


Evangelion X Godzilla Part I: A God Incarnate

by AlphaBeta17



Series: Evangelion X Godzilla [1]
Category: Godzilla - All Media Types, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Reinterpretation, Crossover, Drama & Romance, F/M, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-16 08:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 39,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21504889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlphaBeta17/pseuds/AlphaBeta17
Summary: Shinji Ikari is pulled from his quiet life in the countryside of a post-apocalyptic Japan to pilot Evangelion Unit 01. Alongside the quiet and mysterious Rei Ayanami, and the loud and aggressive Asuka Soryu, Shinji will battle Godzilla and other monsters to protect Tokyo-3, whilst uncovering the secrets behind Nerv.
Relationships: Ayanami Rei/Ikari Shinji
Series: Evangelion X Godzilla [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1708768
Kudos: 5





	1. Landfall

The year was 2015. The world was in a fragile state. In the year 2000, the 2nd Impact occurred, vaporizing the continent of Antarctica, and bringing catastrophic change to the world. Billions died in the aftermath, due to massive flooding. Most major cities, being located along the coastline, were destroyed. This included Tokyo, the largest city in the world. The city was rebuilt at the base of Mt. Fuji, around the preexisting town of Gotemba. This city was known as Tokyo-3. It was the militarized counterpart of Tokyo-2, which was where the government was now located, farther inland. Though Gotemba used to sit several hundred feet above sea-level, now, it was a coastal city.

Many wondered what the purpose of Tokyo-3 was. Why was a militarized city needed in a world where no country could afford to wage war anymore? That year, the reason became clear, through a series of astounding, unbelievable events. This is a documentation of said events, leading up to what would later be termed the Third Impact.

* * *

**July 9th, 2015**

It began at 0700 hours. The United Nations noticed a large object approaching the coast of Tokyo-3. Jets and helicopters were sent out to investigate it, but could not identify it. A passing fishing vessel was sunk by the object, which capsized it with a single blow from a large, scaled tail. The United Nations then termed the object a living threat, and alerted Japanese authorities.

One organization, Nerv, which was a relatively secret, yet extraordinarily highly funded military branch, was notified immediately, and sent word for a boy living by himself in the countryside. He took the trains that connected the rest of Japan to Tokyo-3, and only after he arrived at the city at 1100 hours was the public alerted to the incoming threat, and told to evacuate to shelters.

By this point, the United Nations had code-named the creature Godzilla, and had spent the past several hours bombarding it with missiles and bombs, to no avail. As it reached the shoreline, they were forced to call off their attacks. Godzilla made landfall, and began to move through Tokyo-3, heading west. As it moved, people who had not had time to evacuate were killed. Explosions followed Godzilla, as it repeatedly ruptured fuel lines and tore down telephone poles. It was pure chaos and destruction.

* * *

Fourteen-year-old Shinji Ikari picked up the payphone and pressed it to his ear. He waited patiently while the phone rang, trying to block out the distant sounds of explosions, before a message played instead. _All lines are out of order due to the state of emergency. Please evacuate to the nearest shelter…._

Shinji sighed and put the phone back on the hook. _It's out of order. I shouldn't have come_. He looked down at his watch, then back at the photograph in his hands he had received that morning. It was of a young (mid to late twenties) woman, leaning over towards the camera, with her large breasts predominantly displayed by her low-cut shirt. She was supposed to pick him up outside the train station at 1130 hours, but never showed. Forced to move by the crowds of panicking people, he went looking for a payphone to call the emergency number on the photograph. Shinji sighed. _I guess I'll go to the shelter, since they seem to have forgotten about me._

Suddenly, closer than any of the others, a loud explosion cut across the landscape. Shinji looked around wildly, wondering what caused it. "It sounds like it's from the east…" He said aloud.

A car suddenly flys by him, before screeching to a halt, then backing up to Shinji. The side-door is thrown open, and Shinji is greeted by a panting, half-crazed driver. The woman from the picture. "Get in the car Shinji! There's no time; it's heading this way!"

Shinji stared for a second, before quickly getting into the car. They peel away from the curb, the car lurching back and forth, as the woman yanked the wheel, clearly not a careful driver.

After a minute of driving, he looked back the way they came: and nearly screamed. A large monster was flopped over the street where he had just been. It had large, fish-like eyes, and red-colored gills, which were spilling blood as it moved. It was moving west, towards the center of Tokyo-3.

"What….what is that?" Shinji asked, horrified by the sight.

"We aren't really sure yet. For now, we're referring to it as Godzilla."

* * *

Godzilla. A god incarnate.

28 meters tall. 122 meters long.

Mutated. In pain.

Angry.

Angry at the world. At its creators, both literal and spiritual.

A being of pure malice.

* * *

Shinji shivered, watching as it continued to move forward, using its head to smash through buildings. Its large tail was sticking up in the air, dragging behind it, propelled forward by massive legs.

"-and I'm in charge of you now." "What?" Shinji replied, distracted by Godzilla, who was now flinging cars back and forth; even though it was already several blocks past their road, cars could still be seen launching into the air over the three-story buildings.

"I said my name is Misato. Captain Misato Katsuragi. I'm in charge of you now, per the orders of Nerv, and Commander Ikari."

_Commander Ikari. Father._

Shinji looked questioningly at Misato. She glanced away from the road at him for a second. "Yes. Your father is the Commander of Nerv. He sent for you. I am taking you to see him."

Shinji looked down at his lap. His hands were folded.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Why does my father want to see me?"

Shinji's mind conjured up memories. Memories. Of his mother. Of happiness. Of belonging. Saying goodbye to her. Her telling him that she'd see him again real soon.

Staring at his father's back, as he walked away, leaving Shinji beside his mother's grave. Four-year-old Shinji, alone. Motherless. And now fatherless.

"Why does my father want to see me?" Shinji quietly asked again. Misato sat in silence for a few more seconds, before curtly responding. "That information is classified. You'll find out when we get there."

_Figures._

"Anyway, what are you so mopey about? Aren't you glad you get to be far away from the monster, driving in a car with _me_?"

Shinji gave Misato a side-eye, as she grinned cheerily, all traces of her formality gone immediately. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

Misato stared at Shinji for a second, before he suddenly yelled: " _Look out!_ "

Misato swerved, barely missing the concrete barrier she was about to drive into.

"Oh, sorry about that! I get so distracted, especially when I'm in a rush!" She appeared nonchalant about the near-death encounter. Shinji was beginning to grow weary of her antics. _First, she sends a ritzy photo of herself to a fourteen-year-old. Then she arrives late to pick said boy up, only narrowly getting him before he would've been crushed by a giant monster. Then she drives like a maniac. A very mature woman indeed._

"C'mon, Shinji. Stop looking so down. This is fun, right?"

Shinji glanced back at Misato again. "You're very childish for your age, aren't you," he replied with a quiet tone.

Misato's expression soured. "They didn't tell me you have a stick up your ass. Chill out, enjoy the view!" She puffed her chest out, and flashed Shinji a clearly fake smile.

Shinji was not about to go along with this. "I'm more concerned about the view of the monster, which is surely killing hundreds as we speak."

Misato gave up. "Fine. Be that way, you frustrating little boy. Good luck talking to your father that way."

Shinji stared out the window, watching Godzilla as it continued its advancement.

_My father. Yeah._

* * *

Commander Gendo Ikari was pleased. The United Nations had just come crawling to him, begging for his help. Just as he had anticipated.

"We are placing control of the situation upon you. None of our weapons were effective against it while it was in the bay, and now we can't afford to launch an assault while it's in the city. We trust you will have the situation under control soon."

Gendo grinned, pushing his sunglasses back up his face. "I will take care of it as expected. You will not be disappointed." He ended the call. Now, after all these years, he finally had a reason to smile.

Sub-Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki stood quietly near him. He was concerned. He knew parts of Gendo's plans, but not how he was going to bring them to fruition. It was probably better if he didn't know how ahead of time. "How do you plan on stopping Godzilla?" He had a guess, and he didn't like it.

Gendo responded. "We will launch Evangelion Unit 01."

Fuyutsuki grimaced. This wasn't going to be pleasant. "But we don't have a pilot."

Gendo responded in his usual cold manner. "A spare is being brought."

* * *

Shinji remained quiet for the rest of the car ride. Misato drove to the edge of town, where Nerv was located in a giant steel pyramid. He watched as Misato flew through security barriers, clearly not caring for proper protocol in an emergency. Before he knew it, they were inside the pyramid. They got out, and began walking down tunnel after tunnel. They were only walking for 10 minutes before Shinji noticed a familiar set of markings on the wall.

"I think we've been down this way before," his quiet voice stated.

Misato groaned in frustration. "No, we haven't! You don't know anything, I know exactly where we're going!" In her head, she was freaking out, knowing full well that she was _utterly_ lost.

Suddenly, as they were passing an elevator, it opened, and out stepped a stern, blonde woman. She barked out "Misato!"

Misato came to a halt, and slowly turned to the new woman, a contrite expression on her face.

"I'm sorry! I was just about to take this elevator! Really, I was!" Misato tried to explain.

 _Yeah, right._ Shinji was not buying it.

"It doesn't matter. Come with me. We have no time left." The woman appeared to be used to Misato's immaturity.

The three rode down the elevator in silence for a few minutes, before the woman spoke.

"Nice to meet you Shinji. My name is Ritsuko Akagi. I'm Head Scientist here at Nerv, in charge of the Evangelion project."

Shinji wondered what that meant, but he kept it to himself. He would probably find out any minute now. "Nice to meet you," he responded politely.

Ritsuko's expression relaxed, and she grinned at Misato. "As expressive as his father I see."

Misato rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Oh, you have NO idea! He just sat there the entire car ride, barely talking to me!"

Ritsuko narrowed her eyes playfully. "You weren't trying to….show off to him, were you?" Shinji internally groaned at that. _Yes, she was._

"No! Of course not! How could you _ever_ think that of your best friend!" Misato quickly responded.

They arrived at the bottom floor. The door opened into darkness, and Misato grabbed Shinji's shoulder leading him out into the unknown. They walked for a minute, before stopping. She yelled out "Hit the lights Ritsu!"

Before Shinji had time to wonder what was going on, lights flooded the massive chamber, hundreds of meters high, wide, and long. They were on a walkway, suspended over a pit of pink liquid. And sitting in front of them….was a giant robot.

Shinji stared in shock. It was resting in the liquid, with only its head and shoulders exposed. It appeared to be humanoid, but the head was oddly shaped.

It was painted green and purple.

Ritsuko walked over to them, and spoke.

"This is the Multi-Purpose Humanoid Fighting Machine. Evangelion Unit 01. The pinnacle of man's technological achievements."

Shinji didn't know how to respond. How does one respond to something like that?

A sound came from overhead. Shinji looked up. Above and behind the head of the mech was a viewing platform, hanging down suspended from the ceiling, with a large glass viewing window. Even from down on the walkway, Shinji could tell who it was.

_Father._

Gendo Ikari spoke.

"Shinji Ikari."

From somewhere, Gendo's voice was being transmitted down to the walkway.

Shinji withered inside. His father hadn't referred to him as 'son'. Just his name. Dispassionate. Cold. Uncaring.

_I don't matter._

"Hello, father."

Shinji waited. He knew he was about to find out what he was there for. He still had no idea what for, but there had to be a reason. A purpose. _A use_.

_That's all I am. Something to be used when needed. Nothing more._

"Ritsuko, begin sortie preparations for Unit 01. Head back to Central Dogma."

Misato gasped. "But sir! Now? Who will pilot it?"

Before walking off, Ritsuko filled in the clueless Major.

"The pilot was just delivered."

Shinji's mind ground to a halt.

_What?_

"Shinji Ikari." It was Gendo. Addressing Shinji again.

"You will pilot Evangelion Unit-01."

Misato gasped again. " _What_? He can't pilot it! It took Rei months to sync with it, you don't expect him to actually sync on his first try, much less pilot it into battle!"

"Captain Katsuragi!" Gendo's voice was firm. "Remain silent."

For the first time since Shinji met her, Misato straightened and looked dead serious. "Yes, sir."

"Shinji." Gendo's voice rang out again. "You WILL pilot Evangelion Unit 01."

Shinji stared down at his hands. They were starting to shake. He clenched his fists, trying not to panic. "Why? Why me? How can you expect this of me? How can you expect me to pilot this, this thing! And to fight that monster I assume?"

Gendo responded coldly. "Yes. You will do it because I am telling you to do it."

Shinji was now in a state of utter terror.

"I won't do it! You can't make me!"

"Yes, we can. You don't have a choice."

"You _always_ have a choice! What matters are the consequences! I don't care _what_ you do to me; throw me in jail, I don't care! I won't pilot it!"

"Shut up, boy! Listen to me god damn it, do you know how much we sacrificed to make sure you got here alive? No, you don't, and you don't care, you insolent, useless child! If you're not going to cooperate with us, then get out!"

Shinji sunk to the ground, and put his head in his arms, trying to shut out the world. He could feel a panic attack setting in. _I can't do this, I'm not good enough, I'm not_ strong _enough. I'm only here anyway because Father needs me, he doesn't actually want to see me! How can he expect me to pilot that thing? I have no clue how to even begin to do that! I'm worthless. I can't do this._

* * *

Gendo stared for a few seconds. "Fine. Fuyutsuki?"

"Yeah?"

"Have Rei brought in. The spare won't cooperate."

"But sir!" Fuyutsuki hesitated. _Was Gendo really going to do this?_ "Is she able to pilot?"

Gendo's response was remorseless. "She's not dead."

Fuyutsuki stood there for a second, before responding. "Right away sir."

* * *

Shinji looked up. The door on the opposite end of the walkway from which he came in opened. Medical officers wheeled out a hospital bed. Shinji shakily got to his feet. His heart froze.

It was a girl. Thin. Elegant. Beautiful. She was wrapped in bloody bandages, and wearing a tight, form-fitting rubber suit.

She had short, blue hair.

The bed came to a stop, and the medical officers retreated. The girl opened her eyes.

They were red. Not red from crying. The actual iris color of her eyes were red.

Gendo's voice rang out again. "Rei Ayanami. You will pilot Evangelion Unit 01."

Rei responded quietly. "Yes, sir." She got up, shakily, her arms barely supporting her weight. Shinji stared in disbelief.

_That bastard. How could he?_

Suddenly, the chamber shook as an explosion rocked the surface far above them. Godzilla had probably hit another gas line.

A section of the ceiling broke away, and began to fall towards the teens. Shinji reacted without thinking. He grabbing the bed and tried to move it, but the wheels jammed. He picked up Rei in his arms and tried to run, but fell after only a few steps. He closed his eyes and leaned protectively over Rei, accepting his fate.

A large mechanical ripping sound was heard, and then a metallic clang.

Shinji opened his eyes, and looked up. It was the hand of the mech. It was directly over him and Rei.

It had moved of its own accord.

Ceiling pieces were now littered over the walkway. Misato, who had frozen in fear a few meters away, had only just been missed by the debris.

She finally gasped, and rushed over. "How did that happen?!" She yelled wildly. "It broke its restraints!"

Up above, Gendo grinned. It had gone exactly as he had predicted.

Shinji looked down at Rei, his arms still curled protectively around her. He closed his eyes, ignoring Misato's ranting.

_I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away. I mustn't run away!  
_

"I'll do it!"

Gendo frowned. "Speak louder, boy."

Shinji yelled louder this time. "I'll do it! I'll pilot the damn robot!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! This is my very first story I've ever decided to release for public consumption. There's probably a lot of errors with it, and I'm new to writing, so please don't hesitate to point out mistakes!
> 
> A little bit of background: this story is not really a Godzilla-Evangelion crossover; it's more of a retelling of Evangelion (a Rebuild, if you will) that incorporates Godzilla (specifically the 2016 Shin Godzilla incarnation), and will feature other Godzilla monsters as well going forward. I have the entire story outlined, and I know exactly what is going to happen, and what monsters will appear.
> 
> Another thing to note. I will not be sticking too closely to the established lore and rules of Evangelion, so certain characters, events, and organizations (such as SEELE) may not appear at all. This is intentional, as I decided that including everything that was part of the original series wouldn't allow for the integration of Godzilla without feeling like the monsters are just stand-ins for the Angels (because trust me, down the line, the monsters will fill very different roles than the Angels served).
> 
> I will try to update chapters once per week, and any comments are appreciated. Thanks again!
> 
> (Also, this was originally written and posted to FF.net)
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (11/19/19)


	2. First Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the second chapter! Thank you so much for reading, please tell me what you thought about it! I appreciate any feedback, positive or negative.
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (11/23/19)

**July 9th, 2015**

"Insert Entry Plug!"

Shinji sat nervously in the cockpit of Unit 01. There was little light inside the capsule-shaped pod that held his seat and controls. He felt a lurch as the pod was slid into an opening on the back of the Eva's neck, then locked into place. He felt more lost than ever, sitting there, with absolutely no clue on how to operate the controls in front of him, which consisted of a pair of levers with buttons on the handgrips. He reached and took them in his hands. They felt large and unwieldy. _This is going to end in disaster. Probably death._

_At least that girl Rei won't die. She looks like she's been through hell._

* * *

"Rather interesting. He was absolutely opposed to piloting until he saw that Rei would have to pilot in his place. So far, she appears to be the only thing that can crack his utter uselessness." Ritsuko was talking to herself as she went over the final preparations. Misato walked up to her.

"Yeah, he's a bit of a coward, but he is risking his life for her. Either he's good at heart, or he likes her. Probably both if you ask me," Misato mused.

Ritsuko silently smirked to herself.

"Maya, open communications with the Entry Plug."

"Yes, ma'am!" Maya Ibuki was one of three Lieutenants who served on the bridge of Central Dogma, the main control center of Nerv. Alongside Shigeru Aoba and Makoto Hyuga, she worked directly underneath Ritsuko.

"Shinji, can you hear me?" Ritsuko had her doubts, but she would trust Commander Ikari's judgment on allowing his son to pilot Unit 01.

"Um, yes, I can hear you. How, uh, I mean what am I supposed to do here? I don't know the first thing about how to control this thing."

Ritsuko sighed. "Just relax, it's really quite intuitive. The Eva's onboard computer reads your brain waves. By pulling on the controls, the Eva will automatically understand what you want to do. The only thing you really need to worry about is maintaining focus and control of it, and pulling the trigger to execute specific actions, like firing one of the rifles equipped around Tokyo-3, or attacking with your Prog Knife. These weapons, which only we at Nerv have, generate an energy field, called an AT Field, which can slice through atoms. This should allow you to penetrate Godzilla's scales. Oh, and without a Plug Suit, the Eva should still work fine, but your current clothes will be ruined."

"Huh? How will my clothes be ruined?"

"Injecting LCL!"

_Wait what? What could that be?_

Holes opened up along the inside of the Entry Plug, and an orange liquid started pouring out. Within a few seconds, the liquid had completely filled the small space. Shinji was caught off guard, and didn't have time to hold his breath. He took a deep gulp of the LCL.

"Sorry about that," Ritsuko said, not sounding very sorry. "It's easier if you don't know about that ahead of time. This liquid is called LCL. It'll directly supply you with oxygen, so you can breathe it in safely."

Shinji felt sick from the liquid filling his lungs.

"I feel like I'm about to throw up."

"Deal with it!" Misato scolded Shinji. "Start acting like a man!"

_Easy for her to say…._

"A few more things. When you're in the Eva, the level of control you have over it is measured in your sync rate. We'll Sync you to the Eva at the surface. This is to conserve energy, which the Eva eats up like nothing. Every five minutes in an Eva uses as much energy as a hydrogen bomb. So please, try to finish this quickly. Any questions?"

_Um, yeah. Thousands. What's this LCL stuff made out of, it tastes like blood. How will a knife and gun slice through atoms, that doesn't make any sense! This is crazy!_

"No, ma'am."

"OK, we're ready to launch!" Maya reported.

"Alright, now we just need verbal approval from Commander Ikari. Sir?"

Ritsuko turned around and looked at Gendo, who was watching from a platform elevated above the rest of Central Dogma, waiting for his go. He smiled.

"You are approved for launch."

"Launch Eva!" Ritsuko yelled.

Shinji was thrust back into his seat as the Eva suddenly accelerated along a track upwards, passing through several hangar doors that separated the Eva holding chamber from the outside world. Without the LCL surrounding him, it probably would have hurt a lot. Well, hurt a lot _more_.

There was nothing he could do but grit his teeth and try not to yell.

Suddenly, it stopped.

Even with the LCL, he still shifted a little from the momentum. Fortunately, the Eva was built to negate as much of that as possible.

The track folded away back underground, and the airlock door slammed shut.

"Sync Eva!" Ritsuko yelled.

Shinji felt a rush go through him, and for a brief instant, his mind exploded with the sounds of screaming. Then, it was gone.

Shinji sat there, trying to recover, while he looked around. Before, he had seen nothing but the walls of the Entry Plug. Now, it was like he was looking through the eyes of the Eva itself. He could still see the control sticks in front of him, but he could also see the city around the Eva, and feel the ground underneath his feet. Well, the Eva's feet. It was like he _was_ the Eva now.

"Alright Shinji, not bad. You have a sync rate of 39%, pretty good for a first time." Misato's voice was different now. More…..serious. More self-assured.

"For now, just concentrate on walking forward. Godzilla should be about 500 meters in front of you. See if you can get over to it."

_OK….here goes nothing._

Shinji pushed forward on the control sticks. His weight shifted as the massive mech lifted its right leg…..and toppled over instantly.

Shinji felt a pain in his head when the mech's head hit the ground.

"Ow! What the hell?"

Ritsuko smirked to herself. Shinji was _not_ going to like this.

"Oh, I'm sorry Shinji, one more thing. Any damage felt to the Eva is felt by the pilot as well. That's the trade-off for being able to control it so simply. I hope you don't mind."

Misato, who before hadn't felt much empathy for Shinji, only now started to feel pity for the boy. But she couldn't show it.

"C'mon Shinji, get up, we don't have all day!"

"Alright…." Shinji slowly got to his feet. He tried taking a step again, and this time succeeded. "Hey, I've got it!"

"Great! Now, approach Godzilla. Be careful, it doesn't seem to have noticed you yet. You may be taller than it, but it's much longer than you are tall, and you weigh almost nothing next to it, if our biologist's speculations are correct."

Shinji shakily walked over to Godzilla. He stopped right in front of it. Only then did Godzilla stop its forward movement. Its eyes took a moment to focus on the legs of the mech standing in front of it. It lifted its head, and stared at the strange machine in front of it.

"It seems to be studying the Eva. It's confused. Now's your chance Shinji, it's right there. Try shooting it with your pistol."

Next to Shinji, an abandoned warehouse suddenly sprang open, revealing a large, 10-meter long pistol. Shinji clasped it in his hands and aimed it into Godzilla's face.

Shinji had reservations about firing a gun in the face of a giant horrifying monster. "Are you sure this will work? None of the other weapons that the UN has have been effective."

"Well we haven't tried this one yet, so unless you want to pick Godzilla up and carry him across the city, I suggest getting on with it!" Misato snapped at Shinji.

Shinji tightened his grip…..and pulled the trigger. A loud bang echoed across Tokyo-3. The Eva lurched back several steps, thrown off balance. There was a cloud of smoke around Godzilla's head now. As it cleared, Misato watched the live feed anxiously. Godzilla appeared…..unscathed.

"I don't think that worked….." Shinji remarked. He was trying to stay calm, but was having a hard time of it. The unresponsiveness of Godzilla was worrying him.

Suddenly, Godzilla rushed forward in a blur of motion, not unlike a fish flopping around on land. It swung its head, and knocked the Eva's feet out from under it. The Eva fell hard onto the ground, facing the sky.

It lifted its head, only for the sun to be blocked out by Godzilla, who had suddenly reared up on its hind legs, stumpy arms splayed outward. Godzilla then allowed its body to fall onto the ground…..on top of the Eva.

Shinji gasped from the impact. He felt like he couldn't breathe, as Godzilla's full weight was applied to the Eva. There was nothing physically on top of his own chest…..but it damn well felt like it.

He lay there, trying to suck in air, unable to move, while the Nerv staff panicked.

"Ignore it Shinji, grab your Prog Knife and stab it!"

Shinji struggled to free the Eva's right arm, which was also pinned underneath Godzilla.

"C'mon…," he grunted, pulling with all his might. Suddenly, the arm sprang free. He quickly grabbed the Prog Knife from the Eva's belt, and swung it across Godzilla's gills. It slashed through the scaled skin, spraying the Eva with blood. Godzilla roared in pain, right in Shinji's ears. He felt like his ears were being pulled out of his head.

Godzilla then lifted off the ground, and let itself fall, slamming back into the Eva. It continued to do this several times, determined to hurt the mech.

"Get out of there Shinji! Right when it lifts off you, run!" yelled Misato.

The next time Godzilla lifted up, Shinji rolled the Eva onto its side and scrambled away, barely avoiding another slam from Godzilla.

"Now, keep attacking it!"

Shinji wasn't sure what to do, so he started plunging the knife into Godzilla's flesh, again and again, spraying tons of blood onto the streets of Tokyo-3. Godzilla roared in pain and started thrashing, forcing Shinji to back up several steps.

Godzilla reared back up onto its hind legs, and lifted its head skyward, but this time, it stayed standing up.

Ritsuko gasped in horror. "What is it doing?"

Godzilla's scales were shifting in front of their eyes, moving in waves. Small hands, previously nonexistent, appeared out of Godzilla's chest, folding outwards, attached to the arms that had previously just been stumps. Godzilla's legs started to spread outwards, and lengthened, allowing Godzilla to stand upright with greater balance. Its face visibly morphed, with the eyes sinking back into Godzilla's head, and teeth protruding farther, while the gills became less pronounced. Its entire body became a more reddish color, and it lifted its head skyward, and roared. It was different this time. Deeper. Much more raw.

Shinji could only stare in horror, watching the transformation.

Godzilla lowered its back down to a forward-facing position, but now, it stood eye-to-eye with the Eva, balancing (if somewhat unsteadily) on two legs. It rushed forward, slamming into the Eva, and grabbing the mech's right arm in its massive jaws.

Shinji screamed, as he felt the teeth sink into what felt like his actual arm. He heard a crack as the plating on the Eva gave way, and then he thought he heard another crack. It felt like his arm snapping.

Misato watched in horror as Shinji wailed in pain as Godzilla lifted the Eva up by the arm, and swung in a circle, releasing the Eva. It flew across Tokyo-3, smashing through buildings from the force of the throw, right arm dangling uselessly.

Godzilla rushed forward, while Shinji lay stunned, grasping his right arm inside the Entry Plug, trying to find the source of the pain.

"Snap out if it Shinji, fight back!"

"Shinji, you have to get up!"

"Keep fighting Shinji!"

"Shinji!"

"Shinji!"

"Shinji!"

Shinji felt his mind go blank.

* * *

"There's no response! It looks like the pilot is unconscious!" cried Maya.

"Damn it Shinji! Don't die on me you bastard!" yelled Misato.

"Wait a second! Sync rate climbing fast!"

"What?!" Ritsuko rushed over to Shigeru's monitor. It was true. Shinji's sync rate was climbing higher and higher, then stopped at 100%.

"Oh my god….."

" _It's gone berserk."_

Eva Unit 01 lifted its head skyward and bellowed an ungodly roar. It swung it's left fist, slamming into Godzilla right as it was about to crash into the Eva. Godzilla was knocked to the ground, and the Eva kicked it repeatedly in the face, again and again. Godzilla roared in anger, but was silenced when the Eva grabbed Godzilla's mouth, and tore off it's lower jaw.

"My god…." Misato watched in horror. "Is Shinji doing this?"

Ritsuko wasn't really sure. "I….I have no idea. It could be him, or the Eva itself...or both."

The Eva began to dig its hand into Godzilla's flesh, tearing off chunks and hurling them across the city. Godzilla was thrashing in pain, but the Eva paid no mind, only focusing on one goal: utterly destroying its adversary.

Godzilla was _not_ prepared for a battle like this.

It began to raise its body temperature in an attempt to burn the Eva, but the Eva just let out another bellow, utterly oblivious to the pain from the superheated monster scales. They grew so hot, that they began to slide off of Godzilla, landing on the ground in a sizzling pile, more akin to lava than the solid rock they had been like just a minute before.

Godzilla finally squirmed out of the Eva's grasp and began to tear across Tokyo-3, trying to make it back to the ocean. Bits of liquefied boiling skin were flung about, tearing through the sides of buildings. Godzilla's bulging sinuous muscles were exposed to the air, steaming from the recent contact with the boiling skin.

"Don't let it escape!" Gendo shouted. "It must be killed!"

But the Eva was following its own rules. With Godzilla retreating, the berserk Eva turned its attention to the giant metal pyramid housing Nerv, and began to sprint towards it, howling as it went.

Ritsuko panicked. "Shut it down! Emergency override, eject the Entry Plug!"

The Entry Plug popped out the back of the Eva and sprouted a parachute, gliding gently towards the ground. The Eva plunged forward, landing on its face, sliding several hundred meters, coming to a stop right at the base of Nerv.

Godzilla reached the ocean and dove in, and began to swim away, the water boiling in its wake. An aquatic creature, within no time, it was miles away.

Gendo roared in anger. "God damn it! I wanted it dead!"

Misato glanced wearily at Gendo. "At least we managed to drive it off."

Gendo turned on Misato. "What do you know? It's your fault that worthless kid didn't kill it! Someone fetch Shinji and get him patched up, I want a word with him!"

Misato thought about telling the Commander that 'that worthless kid' was his son, but she thought better of it.

* * *

**July 12th, 2015**

Shinji opened his eyes. He was staring at a ceiling. An unfamiliar ceiling.

_Where am I?_

It all came flooding back into his mind.

The Eva.

Godzilla.

Misato.

Ritsuko.

Rei.

Father.

The last thing Shinji remembered was the world fading to black…..and then some horrible things happening. Brutally fighting Godzilla. Turning the tide of the battle and chasing it off after only a minute more of fighting. Those events seemed more like a dream.

_Did that really happen? Did I do those things? I didn't know I could do things like that._

Shinji sighed.

_I bet father's unhappy about something._

* * *

SMACK!

Shinji withered inside from the sting of the blow. His father had just back-handed him. Shinji had been unconscious for 3 days, and Gendo's anger had only built up in the meantime.

"Do you have _any_ idea how much damage you caused to the city? How many people you killed? You had one job, to kill Godzilla, and you failed. I should have you executed for the worthless piece of trash you are, especially for trying to attack Nerv!"

SMACK!

Misato grimaced, watching the Commander hit his son again. She wanted to step in…..but her fear of Gendo outweighed her worry for Shinji. Nothing was certain, but rumors had swirled at Nerv for years that those who disobeyed Gendo tended to mysteriously disappear.

"Tell me. Why the _hell_ did you try to attack Nerv?"

_I don't know. I didn't want any of this. I didn't want to kill people. I just didn't want Rei to have to pilot instead._

Shinji struggled to answer.

"I don't know, I can barely remember it. I didn't mean to attack Nerv. I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

"You're damn right it won't."

SMACK!

"You're lucky that right now, we need you. Rei is still out of commission, and so is her Eva."

_There's more than one Eva? Wait, you mean you couldn't use her at all? Bastard. You tricked me._

"We have a third pilot in Germany, but her Eva isn't quite finished being built yet. She won't arrive for several more weeks. In the meantime, you will be on constant standby in case of another monster attack. Another failure like today and you will be removed from active duty and imprisoned. Understand?"

Shinji was almost shaking in anxiety.

"Understand?!" Gendo yelled.

Another moment passed.

"Yes, sir."

Gendo slapped Shinji one more time for good measure. This time, Shinji dropped to his knees.

"Now get out of my sight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the second chapter! Thank you so much for reading, please tell me what you thought about it! I appreciate any feedback, positive or negative.
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (11/23/19)


	3. Tokyo-3

**July 12th, 2015**

Shinji sat quietly in Misato's car while she talked to Ritsuko. It was a weird feeling for him. It reminded him of overhearing other kids at school back in the countryside complain about their parents.

Shinji didn't really know the feeling. He had lived in the cellar of one of the teachers at his school. An old man, nearly deaf, he had never mistreated Shinji. But he had never helped him either.

_I remember that time the other kids beat me up worse than usual. When I got home, I tried to hide my face, so he wouldn't see the blood. He saw it anyway, but just told me to go wash my face, and not to make a mess. I didn't bother hiding my injuries after that._

_I can't really blame him. He had never wanted to take care of a child, but apparently Father had insisted I live with him._

Shinji tried to clear his mind of memories. Normally, he would listen to his SDAT Player. But it had been taken from him when he was put into the Eva. He didn't know where it was now.

_It was originally father's, before he left me. I wonder if he took it back._

The car door opened. Misato got in and shut the door. She handed something to Shinji. He looked down at it. It was his SDAT Player.

"Thank you, Misato."

"You're welcome, Shinji."

Misato started the car, and they drove away.

It was several minutes before Shinji spoke.

"Misato?"

"Yes?"

Shinji hesitated, then pressed onward.

"Where am I going to stay?"

"You are going to stay with me, at least for the time being. I hope you don't mind."

Shinji didn't really know what to think about that. Misato was sloppy and rude. But she guided him in battle, and seemed concerned when he was in trouble, unlike Ritsuko or Gendo.

"That's alright."

They stopped a little later. They were overlooking Tokyo-3.

"Shinji. Look."

Shinji looked over Tokyo-3. It was evening. The sky was red, and was reflecting off the tall steel buildings. Well, the ones that were still standing.

"What are we looking at? The destruction I caused?"

Misato nearly scolded him, but she restrained herself.

"No, please Shinji, try to look beyond the destruction."

Shinji sighed. "Alright. I'm looking."

And he did look. Despite the clear path that Godzilla had taken, much of the city still stood tall and proud. In the setting sun, it looked quite majestic.

"I need you to remember something. You protected this city, and everyone in it. You didn't do it perfectly, but you tried your best. If you hadn't, many more would have died. Most kids your age wouldn't have been able to successfully pilot an Eva into battle. This city owes you a great debt. I would like to thank you on all of our behalf. Thank you, Shinji. You are a hero. Remember that."

Shinji sat quietly, watching the sunset.

"Thanks. That means a lot to me."

Misato smiled. He may be quiet, but when he did speak, he spoke with the utmost sincerity. So unlike most.

"Let's get going. You've had a busy few days, you need some rest."

* * *

Ten minutes later, they arrived at Misato's apartment. Shinji wondered to himself why she lived so far away from Nerv if they were on constant standby, but he didn't voice his concerns.

They went up the elevator to the top floor, and walked down the hallway. They stopped at Misato's door.

"Well, this is it!" Misato said, trying to sound cheerful.

She opened the door and went right in, but stopped when she noticed Shinji had frozen at the threshold. He looked reluctant to enter.

"Shinji."

Shinji looked up at Misato's voice.

"This is your home now. You can come in."

Shinji took a deep breath, and stepped over the threshold.

He smiled.

"Home."

* * *

Misato slammed down her can of beer, and let out a loud yell.

"This is what makes life worth living, I'm telling ya!"

Shinji watched wearily, quietly picking at his instant ramen. He would have to go to the grocery store tomorrow, as Misato's apartment was filled with nothing but beer and instant food.

Not only that, it was an absolute mess. Trash and dirty clothes littered the apartment. In short…..it was filthy.

"Shinji, why aren't you eating?" Misato asked, already back to the sloppy and relaxed self she had been in the car ride to Nerv.

"Well, I guess I'm not really used to eating this kind of food. Out in the countryside, we ate mostly locally produced food. We didn't really have access to…..this stuff."

Misato rolled her eyes. "Oh c'mon Shinji, stop being so picky!" She leaned across the table over to Shinji, giving him a clear view of her large breasts. "You are a man, aren't you? Start acting like one!"

Shinji stared for a second, before quickly looking away. "Yes, sorry ma'am."

Misato harrumphed at that. "Really? We're living together now, you don't have to be so stiff all the damn time! Loosen up, relax!"

She leaned back in her chair, raising her beer can above her head as she drank the last few drops. Despite his better judgment, Shinji couldn't help but stare at her long figure in a loose tank top.

_Stop it, Shinji! You don't want to be a pervert, do you?_

Shinji stood up and took his bowl of instant ramen to the trash. He could afford to go hungry for now. _I'll just go get some real food tomorrow._

As Shinji was walking towards his room, he stopped by the bathroom. He opened the door, only to meet by, of all things, a penguin. Shinji stared at it blankly for a second, the dissonance of a penguin being inside of an apartment momentarily crashing his brain, before he screamed and ran back to Misato. He began to ramble.

"Misato! There's, there's a thing in the bathroom it was just standing there, what the hell is that I mean is it a penguin or….."

He stopped as the 'penguin' walked right by him to a large freezer standing next to the fridge. The penguin pressed a button near the base of the freezer, and a small door slide open. It turned back to Shinji, gave him a WARCK, and then went into the freezer, the door sliding shut behind it.

"Oh don't mind him, that's just my pet hot spring penguin, Pen Pen."

Shinji just stared. _I'm pretty sure that's not normal….._

"Don't worry about it, Shinji. Just go take a piss and go to bed. You need your sleep. Alright?"

Shinji stood there silently, still recovering from his surprise.

" _Alright?_ " Misato said, louder.

"Yes, ma'am, I mean, Misato."

As Shinji walked off, Misato closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

She sat and thought to herself. _Am I coming off too strong? I'm trying to be cheerful and nonchalant, but I'm terrified right now. That kid did some crazy shit in battle. Was that him doing those things? Maybe I'm being too hard on him. He's a nice kid, but we don't need him to be nice, we need him to be strong. We need him to defend the city. Gendo and Ritsuko won't say anything to me, but I know that there are more monsters out there. I heard what Gendo said to Shinji. Shinji will have to face them, and if he fails, even with Rei, when she's recovered, and Asuka, when she gets here, the city, no, the world, could be doomed._

* * *

Shinji lay in bed later that evening. Despite his exhaustion, he was finding it hard to fall asleep. He gave up and decided to listen to his SDAT player.

As he listened, thoughts ran through his head.

_None of this makes any sense._

_Why me? Why am I the one who must pilot the Eva? Why must I, a worthless kid, be the one who decides the fate of the world? Why is Misato in a position of power at Nerv? Why is my Father the person in charge? What even are the Evas? Where are the other ones?_

_Who is that girl, Rei? Why am I thinking about her? Is it because I'm attracted to her? Well, I could say I'm attracted to Misato, though that's probably a given since I'm a teenager; obviously nothing could ever happen between us, even if we were the same age I'd never want to be with someone like her. She's so loud and mean, but at times she seems to genuinely care. She doesn't make any sense. What's with that penguin? What even is it? I've never heard of a 'hot springs penguin' before._

_Why was Rei injured? What caused that? Did Father have anything to do that?_

As Shinji's thoughts continued to tumble about, he slowly drifted off to sleep, and soon afterward, Misato's loud snores from her room filled the apartment.

* * *

**July 13th, 2015**

Shinji sat quietly at his desk, trying not to be noticed by the other kids.

Even though he was on 'constant standby' for Nerv, he was still required by law to attend school. So there he was, at a new school, in a big city, surrounded by unfamiliar kids.

He tried to tune out everyone, but he couldn't escape the whispers.

"I heard from my dad that the pilot of that robot is actually a kid!"

"Hey, what's up with that new kid that just transferred in, why would anyone transfer here, especially right after that monster attack?"

"He looks weak."

"Could he be the kid who piloted that robot?"

"No way!"

"If he is, I'll kick his ass!"

"Yeah, me too!"

"Let's ask him!"

_Great._

The other kids crowded around Shinji's desk.

"Hey! Who are you?"

"Why are you here?"

"Did you see that monster attack? It was scary, but cool!"

"Jesus dude, tons of people died in the attack!"

"Yeah, like my sister, but she was killed by the robot when it flung pieces of that monster everywhere!"

"Yeah, I'm more scared of the robot than the monster!"

"Are you the pilot?"

The kids fell silent, staring at Shinji, waiting for an answer.

_Should I lie?_

_Well, if they find out that I lied to them, they'll be even more mad. Better just suck it up._

"Yeah, I am."

Several kids shrieked, and backed away from Shinji.

"Jesus!"

"You're a lunatic!"

"You're insane!"

"You're crazy, you're a monster!"

"Monster!"

"Monster!"

"Monster!"

* * *

Shinji flew back against the wall, colliding hard. He fell to the ground, already dizzy from the beating.

"Get up and fight like a man! Or can you only fight like a monster?"

Shinji slowly got to his feet. He kept his head down, and tried to walk away.

One of the boys grabbed him, and socked him in the gut.

Another one grabbed his head and slammed it into the wall.

One of the girls kicked him in the groin.

Another lashed out with her fingernails, drawing a sharp line of blood across Shinji's face.

He fell to the ground again, and curled into a ball while the kids kicked him, over and over.

After several minutes, they grew tired, and left him there on the ground, laughing as they walked off.

Shinji lay there for several minutes. He'd been beaten up before, plenty of times in fact, but never with this degree of hatred and animosity.

He shakily sat up, and leaned his back against the wall. He reached up and felt his cheek. There was a small trail of blood from the scratch, running from his lower jaw up past his nose. He put his face in his arms, trying not to break down.

_I won't break down, not again. Please. I'm not strong enough._

_Someone help me, please._

_What did I do to deserve this?_

_Misato says I'm a hero, but am I really? Maybe these kids are right. People died because of me. If I had been more careful, if I had been stronger, maybe people who died would still be alive today. It's my fault those people died._

_I'm a monster, like they said._

_A monster._

* * *

Shinji was walking home a few minutes later. Fortunately, the bleeding had stopped. A bit had gotten on his shirt, standing out against the white.

Shinji sighed to himself. It appeared that this would be something he would have to endure. He could try to get Misato to step in and help, but if word got back to Gendo that he wasn't fighting back, he'd probably forbid Misato from helping him.

_Should I fight back?_

Shinji thought about it for a minute, before deciding.

_No. They won't kill me. I'll be doing enough fighting against the monsters. These kids aren't monsters. They're scared. I can't really blame them. I'll let them have their kicks and punches. It's better this way._

"MEOW."

Shinji stopped.

_What was that?_

The sound came again.

"MEOW."

It was coming from the bushes next to the sidewalk.

Shinji got down on his knees and pushed aside the bushes. It was a small black kitten.

It stared at Shinji, who studied it.

Its right eye was missing. Scratched out, probably, from a larger animal. It looked thin, with patches of its fur missing.

"Hello there. You OK?"

Shinji didn't know why he was talking to it. Maybe he just needed to talk to someone. Anyone.

The kitten meowed again, looking up at Shinji. He smiled.

"Alright, come here little one," Shinji gently said, reaching out his hand for the kitten to sniff. There had been lots of cats out in the countryside, so Shinji knew the basics of how cats behaved.

It backed away momentarily, before curiosity won out. It crept forward and sniffed Shinji's hand. After a couple of seconds, it rubbed its head against Shinji's hand.

Shinji's smile grew. "Hey. Nice to meet you. I'm Shinji. What should I call you?"

The kitten looked at the boy curiously.

"How about Mari? Yeah, that sounds right. C'mon, you can come with me."

Shinji gently picked up the kitten, holding it cupped against his chest. The kitten snuggled down into Shinji's hand, finally comfortable after a long time of sleeping on the ground.

Shinji wasn't sure what to do. Would he be able to take care of it? He wasn't sure if he could, or even if he should, but it didn't feel right leaving it out here alone, in a vast unfriendly city. _Just like me._

Shinji began walking home again.

_Yeah, Mari. I'll take care of you. It's the least I can do._

* * *

Shinji quietly opened the door to the apartment. He listened closely. It was silent.

Shinji smirked. _Guess Misato isn't here. If she was, I'd be able to hear her._

Shinji brought Mari to his room. He set her down gently on his pillow, where she curled up, yawned, and immediately fell asleep.

"Wait right here, I'll be right back."

Shinji quickly ran to the store, using the credit card Misato had given him to buy groceries. He bought some vegetables, rice, spices, bread, juice, and fish for himself, while also getting some kitten food, a small litter box, and milk for Mari. _I'll just have to remember to switch to lactose-free milk when Mari is fully grown._

It was only after he had paid for everything and was walking home, weighed down by the bags, when it occurred to him. _How will Misato react? I won't be able to keep the kitten hidden forever, and I'm not sure she'll be OK with a cat in the apartment. I acted without her approval, what if she gets mad at me?_

Shinji took a deep breath. Usually, he would start hyperventilating at this point, but the thought of Mari needing him compelled him onward. _No, it'll all work out. Mari needs me._

* * *

"I'm home!" Misato yelled cheerfully as she entered the apartment.

"Ugh, work sucked ass today, do you know how much paperwork I have to fill out for you Shinji, it's unbelievable, I mean….." Misato stopped and stared. Shinji was standing in the kitchen, moving around with ease. The delicious smell of cooked fish and rice filled the air. Shinji looked up at Misato, and gave her a warm smile. "Hey, dinner is almost ready, you got back just in time."

Misato stood in shock, not sure how to react. Shinji looked completely at ease right now, so much different than he usually did. He had a small smile on his face.

"Ah, uh, I mean, OK, I will just, ah, go get changed, yeah," Misato stammered, before quickly running to her room. She had _not_ expected this. As she passed through the living room, she nearly gasped. It was clean and orderly, not how it had been that morning. She shook her head.

A few minutes later, after a shower (in a bathroom that had also been cleaned) and changing into more comfortable clothes, she reentered the kitchen. Shinji was already seated at the table, and was waiting for her. She moved to the fridge and went to grab her usual beer, and shrieked when she saw that the fridge had been completely reorganized. Before, it had been only filled with beer, but now, the beer was relegated to a single shelf, the rest of the fridge now holding an assortment of vegetables and juice. Misato stared in shock, once again. She looked at Shinji in anger, but before she could speak, he said: "don't worry, your beer is just in the cupboards now, when you run out of beer in the fridge you can always put more beer back in, I needed the space for the food I got."

Misato almost yelled, but stopped herself. After all, Shinji's logic made sense. She grumpily sat down at the table and popped the tab on her can of beer. She leaned back and took a huge swig from it, letting out a yell when she was done.

Shinji stared at her in amusement, before digging into his meal. Misato started to eat as well, and had to admit, it tasted a lot better than her usual instant ramen.

"Hey, Shinji? You didn't have to clean everything. I mean, I appreciate that you did, but you don't have to do that."

"Oh, I know. I just prefer things to be clean. It's no problem."

"Ah," Misato responded. "Well, thanks anyway. I really should try to clean more often."

Shinji smiled. "It's OK, I live here now, I might as well pitch in as much as I can."

Misato was struck again by how genuinely kind Shinji was. She may not understand him, but he was starting to grow on her.

After a minute of eating, Shinji spoke up nervously, his usual timid demeanor returning. "Hey, um, so I was walking home from school today, and I, uh, found a kitten. It was weak and scared, so I took it home. It's in my room, and I already got things to take care of it, if you don't mind."

Misato nearly gagged on her food. "What? You did what?"

Shinji's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, I should have gotten your permission first, I just couldn't leave it out there by itself."

Misato leaned back in her chair and sighed. "No, it's fine…..but it can't stay here for too long, you'll have to find a home for it somewhere else soon. I'm allergic to cats, and I'm pretty sure that Nerv, well, I guess your Father, won't want you to have a pet. Don't worry, I won't tell him about this, but please be careful, Shinji. You know what he's capable of."

Shinji looked down. "Yeah, I know."

Misato stared at Shinji, and noticed the scratch mark on his cheek. "Wait, what's that? Shinji, did something happen?"

Misato felt anger rising inside of her. "Did the other kids at school do this? If they did, I swear to god I'm going to…."

"Hey, it's OK Misato. It wasn't that bad. I can handle it. If we do anything to stop them, they'll just get more resentful. It's better to just let them take out their anger and fear."

Misato didn't like it. "Are you sure? I mean, I'm a member of Nerv, I can probably pull a few strings….."

Shinji shook his head. "No. I don't want Father to find out. He'd probably commend the kids for beating me up anyway."

As much as Misato hated to admit it, Shinji was probably right.

"OK, I won't do anything. But if it gets worse, please tell me immediately, OK?"

Shinji nodded. His former melancholy expression was back. "I will."

Misato was disappointed that Shinji was back to his usual depressiveness. She found herself wanting to make him feel better, something she wouldn't have considered when she first met him. "Shinji. I know this has probably been hard for you, moving in with me, piloting the Eva, the kids at school not liking you...I just wanted to say that all things considered, I think you're holding up well. Don't worry, things will get better."

"How so?"

Misato smirked. "Well, for starters, in a few days, Rei will be fully recovered, and she'll be at school with you. You could always try talking to her..."

Shinji blushed, but Misato ignored it. "And in a couple of weeks, Asuka, the 3rd Pilot, will get here. She's...interesting. Let's just say that."

Shinji had no idea what was coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the 3rd Chapter! Thank you so much for reading! A bit of information: I've got the story structure all planned out now; there will be 12 chapters in total in this story, though there will be at least one more installment following this story. The next chapter will feature Asuka's introduction, and her fight against another Toho kaiju. Until then!
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (11/27/19)


	4. Orga

**August 12th, 2015**

Thunder exploded in the night sky. Wind swept through the city of Munich, Germany, and rain splattered on the deserted streets. People slept soundly in their beds, used to the constant storms in this new, warmer world. Everything was ordinary.

Munich was now the capital of Germany, since Berlin was several hundred feet underwater. A cultural and economic hub not just for Germany, but for the world, it was home to several million people.

None of this concerned Gendo.

The attack would proceed as planned. Well, planned by him, and only him.

* * *

The red-colored Evangelion Unit 02 was kneeling on the ground outside of Munich.

An hour before, the city had come under attack by a monster with a bulky body, short legs, and massive hands.

The UN had codenamed 'him' Orga.

Eva Unit 02 had only just finished construction two days before. At the time, some thought that the timing was 'a miracle' and that Munich was in luck.

History would reveal otherwise.

Orga, 50 meters tall, walked clumsily through the darkened city.

Below him, mass chaos.

With the storm raging, and the monster appearing suddenly, having not been noticed beforehand like Godzilla had been in Tokyo-3, there was no time for any evacuations whatsoever. People and cars crowded the streets, slipping and falling on the slick ground, and tumbling about in the strong wind.

It was a nightmarish hell, even without the monster ambling through the streets, crushing people under his massive feet. He let out a roar as lightning flashed, thunder only a second behind it.

The Eva did not attack. It lay poised, ready to break into a sprint when given the order.

Its pilot. Asuka Langley Soryu. 14 years old. Hot-headed. Arrogant. Intelligent.

Deadly.

Trained in Eva simulators from the age of 7, Asuka had been waiting for an excuse to get into a real Eva for years. This monster attack would provide her the opportunity she wanted.

Gendo watched the attack play out on a screen. He had flown out to Munich to observe the battle, while Fuyutsuki stood behind him, as always. He would tell authorities that it was a 'lucky coincidence' that he was in town when the attack took place. They were also joined by Ryoji Kaji, Asuka's guardian, appointed by Nerv. He stood casually, with an air of nonchalance, appearing quite comfortable with observing the battle from several miles away.

He was fairly confident that Asuka was in no real danger.

Fairly.

"When will you give the order to attack?" Ryoji asked.

"Any minute now. Her sync rate is outstanding, much better than Rei or Shinji ever achieved. It appears you weren't exaggerating about this girl's talent, which seems to have carried over from the simulations. If anything, it's better."

Ryoji smirked. "It's almost as if she was born to pilot an Eva."

"Indeed. By now she will have had time to observe Orga, and she should have decided how to counter it." Gendo's voice sounded almost bored, as if he already knew what would happen.

Fuyutsuki did not share the other men's confidence. "She is just a girl. Are you really going to send her into combat with no one guiding her decisions? What if she loses herself in the heat of battle? What if she ends up seriously injured?"

"It is of no concern. Ryoji, tell her it's time," Gendo responded in an annoyed tone.

 _I hope she can handle_ this, Ryoji thought to himself. _She probably can, but I would still rather not send her into battle alone. Ah well. Gendo's in charge, and it wouldn't be wise to openly disobey him..._

Ryoji grinned. "Yes, sir!"

"Oh, and tell her to ignore collateral damage. The consequences of failing to kill Orga will be much worse in the long run than stepping on a few stupid people now."

* * *

The Eva sprang forward, full out sprinting. Its feet crashed through the streets of Munich, sending people and cars flying. The Eva let out a roar, challenging Orga.

Orga stopped. He had been wandering around, using his hands to smash buildings, when he saw the red robot rapidly approaching. He cocked his head curiously. What was this mechanical giant? A friend perhaps, to play with?

Orga let out a greeting roar, and stretched his arms out wide, hoping to be embraced by the robot. Finally, something as big as he was!

It wasn't until after the Eva's fist smashed into Orga's face, sending him careening through Munich, that he realized something. This robot was _not_ friendly.

Enraged, Orga let out a roar in anger, and got to his feet. The Eva was still sprinting towards him. He felt energy pulse through him, building up through his body, then concentrating on his left shoulder. A beam of energy fired out of his shoulder, colliding with the Eva, causing a massive explosion on impact, knocking the Eva to the ground.

From within the Eva, Asuka groaned, as pain spiked throughout her body.

_Is that the best you can do?_

Her Eva hoped back onto its feet, and bounded over to Orga. His large hands reached out to grab the Eva, but were batted aside, as Asuka proceeded to slam her Eva's head into Orga's, drawing a screech of pain from the monster.

Orga retaliated by wrapped his left hand around the Eva's thin waist, and picking the Eva up. He smashed the Eva into the ground, again and again, roaring in anger.

Fuyutsuki was watching in shock. "My God. We need to do something!"

"Nonsense!" Gendo cried, amused by the show being put on. Internally, he was much more reserved. _Just as I had orchestrated, she has years of anger and frustration. Let's see her battle tactics now..._

The next time Orga's fist came crashing down, Asuka braced the Eva's legs. They collided with the ground, but didn't buckle, sending a shockwave up through Orga's body, momentarily stunning him, causing him to release the Eva.

Asuka grinned. _This is where the fun begins._

She grabbed her Prog Knife from her belt and swung it in a wide arc, right across the left side of Orga's face, pulverizing his left eye. Not stopping, she swung the knife again, planting it in Orga's chest. She then tackled Orga to the ground, and wrapped her Eva's long legs around Orga's body. Her Eva bit down on the back of Orga's head, drawing blood, and she fixed her hands on the upper and lower parts of Orga's left arm.

She pulled in opposite directions.

Orga's left arm tore off at the elbow joint. Asuka started beating Orga with his hand, while he lay there, dazed and confused.

But the monster wasn't going down without a fight. Orga possessed regenerative capabilities, and they were already kicking in.

Asuka was so focused on her task at hand that she didn't notice that Orga's arm was already growing back. Within a few seconds, it was fully regenerated.

Asuka did notice the arm when it grabbed her and threw her across the city.

As her Eva came to a stop beneath several fallen skyscrapers, she realized that perhaps she would have to approach this fight more strategically. _C'mon, regeneration? That's just cheating! Nobody said that they could regenerate!_

She pushed her way out of the rubble, and quickly regained her bearings. Orga was charging at her, fully enraged, and fully intact, without a single scratch on his body.

_Well, shit._

She barely managed to step out of the way of the charging monster in time. It dug its huge feet into the ground, and came to a stop. It swung its oversized hands at the Eva, trying to grab it again.

This time, Asuka used the Eva's lithe frame and light weight (well, light for a 50-meter tall robot) to twist and dodge in and out of Orga's grip. She tried slashing at Orga with her Prog Knife, this time at points that might be weaker.

She quickly realized that Orga didn't have any weak points, as each new spot she slashed would quickly heal itself.

_Well, that didn't work. What should I try now?_

Orga decided for Asuka when its jaw unhinged and began to expand. Before Asuka could react, her Eva's head was inside of Orga's mouth, staring down the back of his throat.

_OK then, I guess this is what we're doing now. Might as well run with it!_

Instead of resisting, she took her arms and shoved them into Orga's mouth, trying to force them in front of her head, further down Orga's throat. She jumped in the air, trying to use gravity to force herself further into Orga.

_C'mon, where is it…_

It was pitch black inside of Orga, so Asuka slashed outward with her Prog Knife. _I'll only have a few seconds of light, I've gotta hurry!_

The Prog Knife sliced upwards out of Orga's thick hide, and slashed across his back, spilling light onto his internal organs. Flesh and blood poured out of him, mainly from his stomach, where the Eva's head and arms were lodged. She pushed herself even further forward, turning her head back around to view the inside of the monster, her legs dangling out of Orga's mouth.

_There it is!_

She reached out and wrapped the Eva's left hand around Orga's beating heart. She could barely hold it still, especially since Orga had caught on to what she was doing. Already, his back was healing, and he was flailing around in a panic.

With only seconds left, Asuka took her Prog Knife and slashed through some of the blood vessels attaching Orga's heart to his body. She grasped Orga's heart, and pulled, snapping it loose from the rest of the strands. Orga immediately stopped moving, and Asuka lobbed the heart out of the hole in his back, now barely large enough for it to fit.

The city grew quiet in shock. The monster was dead. Defeated, by a strange, red robot. None of them knew that the pilot was a troubled 14-year old girl.

Asuka sat back in her chair, took a deep breath: and started laughing uncontrollably at the ridiculousness of the situation, overwhelmed by the rush of adrenaline and fear that finally caught up to her.

_I knew I could do it! I knew all along! I'll show them! I'll show all of them! And I'll show you, mom. You were wrong. I can do this!_

She continued laughing as she pulled her Eva back out of Orga's lifeless body, and as her Entry Plug was ejected and recovered by Nerv.

She never noticed that lying on the ground nearby, where it had fallen down an alleyway, Orga's heart was still beating.

* * *

Gendo smiled as he looked on. She was even better than he had hoped for, and her quick thinking in battle had won the day. Hopefully, she would further confuse Shinj's teenage mind, and make him even more susceptible to manipulation.

Ryoji was ambivalent. While he was glad Asuka had won, he was concerned since he knew that in 5 weeks, he would be transferred to Tokyo-3 with Asuka and Unit 02. From what he had heard, Misato had taken in the new Eva pilot, Shinji, who was apparently a soft-spoken boy. Asuka would probably hate him. And then there was Misato herself…..

_I hope she doesn't still hate me._

Fuyutsuki was in a state of dread. More than anyone in the world, he knew what Gendo was planning. How much he had orchestrated, and how much things had turned out exactly the way he wanted. This battle proved that Gendo knew what he was doing, and would continue to control the events around him. Already, crews were being sent into the city to recover Orga's still-beating heart. While it would eventually regenerate an entire body completely, the process would take several days. And it could be halted indefinitely, due to Nerv's Absolute Zero technology.

As much as Fuyutsuki wanted to stop him, he knew he had to wait until the right time. Move too early, and Gendo would easily crush him.

Fuyutsuki sighed. If only Yui had never met Gendo, all those years ago…..

_I know what you would want me to do, Yui. I promise you: I will try to keep your son safe. From everything that is coming. If only you were still here….._

* * *

**September 2nd, 2015**

Ash drifted in the baked air of Tokyo-3, swirling in circles over the destroyed city. Never before had the city seen such levels of devastation. Not from Godzilla. Or from any other monsters.

Shinji was running through the deserted streets, desperately trying to get back to the apartment where he lived, hoping, praying, that it was still standing.

He passed by Ritsuko, her body broken and battered on the sidewalk, her faux blonde hair stained red with blood.

He passed by the Bridge Lieutenants. They were next to a crashed car, which had collided with a chunk of rock from Mt. Fuji, after it was destroyed, lifted into the sky, and sent raining down across the city. Makoto's body lay motionless, whilst Maya knelt by him, desperately trying to revive him. Shigeru sat nearby, looking shell-shocked, rocking back and forth, with his head buried in his hands.

He passed by his school. Littered on the lawn in front of it were his classmates. He recognized several of the ones that had beat him up, despite their charred appearances. They were all dead, their bodies burned from the explosion that swallowed the building when it was hit by a particularly molten piece of rock. From the looks of it, they had been in the middle of evacuation, but hadn't been quick enough.

The entire city had been caught completely off guard. No one was prepared. Shinji could almost hear the cackle of the monster that had done this, flying over the city, raining destruction. He shuddered at the thought.

He gasped when he got to the apartment where he lived. It was flattened. Nothing but a pile of rubble.

"Misato! Where are you?!" Shinji screamed. He ran up to the ruined building and tried to crawl over the slabs of broken concrete and steel, looking for his guardian.

"Shinji….." Misato's voice quietly rang out from beneath a girder. Shinji ran over, and found Misato with her legs crushed underneath the steel. "Misato!"

He tried to lift the girder off of her. He knew it was useless. It had to weigh several tons. He kept trying anyway. "Don't worry! I'll get you out of here, I promise!"

"No Shinji, run." Misato's voice was broken and defeated. "Run away. As far away as you can. Leave before it comes back."

"No!" Shinji cried, as he dropped to his knees and took Misato's hand. "I…..I can't! I can't leave you! I can't fail you like I failed everyone today! I can't do this by myself! I can't…..I can't….."

The kitten, Mari, darted out from beneath one of the piles of rubble. Shinji extended his other arm towards her. She looked to be several months old now. She ran over to Shinji and jumped into his arms, mewling with fear. "At least you survived….."

He didn't want to think about his fellow pilots.

A roar from the clouds filtered its way down, blasting across the ruined city. Shinji looked up in horror. It was coming back.

"We have to go, now! Please Misato, please!" Shinji was frantic.

Misato smiled sadly at Shinji. "I can't. Go! Save yourself. If you run now, you might survive. It won't find you."

"But I can't leave you! I can't run away! Not again. Not this time!"

The sky began to glow. Golden light illuminated the clouds as it descended back down to the ground, having sent out its call across the world.

Its silhouette was soon visible. Shinji threw himself over Misato, Mari still clutched in his arm. He glanced up one last time.

Right before he blacked out, he saw it. The monster responsible for all this. His screams of terror were swallowed by the roar it gave off with each of its heads.

* * *

"Sync level falling back to normal levels!"

"What the hell happened?"

"Is he alive?"

"The Eva has stopped thrashing ma'am!"

"Shinji! Can you hear me?"

"Quick, try ejecting the Entry Plug again!

"Entry plug has ejected!"

"Finally! Why the hell wouldn't it respond?!"

"Sync levels are never supposed to exceed 100%! He should be dead!"

"Shinji!"

* * *

Shinji blearily opened his eyes as frantic voices continued to stream through the speakers inside the Entry Plug. As his vision came into focus he saw a mop of purple standing above him.

Misato.

"Shinji! Thank goodness you're alive!"

Shinji was crushed by a hug from his sobbing guardian. He thought he heard Ritsuko scoff in the background, but he wasn't sure.

"Get him to the medical wing immediately!"

"Ma'am! The readings from that test are extraordinarily bizarre! It almost looks like he was having some sort of-"

"I know Maya! We'll question him later! Someone get a goddamned stretcher!"

Shinji faded back into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asuka's characterization will differ in this story a bit from how she was portrayed in canon. The next chapter will bring Rei back into the story. Until then!
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (12/3/19)
> 
> I'm re-releasing this chapter, as I wasn't satisfied with the original fight. I also moved the 'vision' sequence from Chapter 5 to this chapter, to balance out the chapter lengths.
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (1/21/20)


	5. Red Iris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the lack of updates; I've spent the past several weeks trying to get the dialogue in this chapter right (and fixing Chapter 4, as I was rather unsatisfied with it). I finally just said 'screw it' and I'm going ahead and releasing this chapter so I can move on.
> 
> The next chapter will feature another monster battle, this time with a classic Godzilla monster from the Showa Era (not any of the Big 5). I'll try not to have another month and a half long gap between chapters. ;)
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (1/21/20)

**September 3rd, 2015**

Shinji's eyes flew open. He was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling again. Wait. No. He'd seen this ceiling before. He was in the medical wing of Nerv.

"Oh good. You're finally awake. Shinji Ikari, explain to me what the hell happened."

"Jeez, Ritsuko, relax, let him wake up properly first. Here, Shinji, this should help." Misato thrust a styrofoam cup of steaming liquid into Shinji's hands. "Drink up Shinji!" Misato's cheerful attitude was firmly in place.

Shinji grimaced. "Thank you," he responded quietly, thoughts tumbling about his brain. _What was all that I saw? The city was destroyed by…..I can't remember what it was, but it scared me. More than Godzilla did._

Shinji took a sip of the steaming cup and nearly choked at the bitter taste of pure black coffee. He took another sip carefully. "Um, I'm sorry, but what exactly happened? Why am I in the medical wing again?"

Ritsuko rolled her eyes. "We were running a Sync test with the Eva, now that it's fully repaired. Things were going fine, then all of a sudden, you started screaming, and your Sync Rate jumped to 101%. You blacked out for about 30 seconds, and the Eva started thrashing around. It nearly broke free of its restraints, but right before it did, you woke up and your Sync Rate dropped back down to normal levels. You're damn lucky, you know that? You really should be dead."

Shinji certainly didn't feel very lucky. He bowed his head in shame at all the trouble he had caused. "I'm sorry ma'am. I don't know how that happened, but I'll try to not let it happen again."

Ritsuko smirked. "You better not, or your Father will be the one reprimanding you."

Shinji shivered at the thought of his Father.

"Alright. Now that you're up to speed, tell me: what the hell did you see?"

* * *

**September 7th, 2015**

Several days later, Shinji stood in a shower, situated near the vast chamber that held his Eva. The warm water poured down his bare shoulders, while he thought back on his day.

He had missed school to do some more Sync Testing with Ritsuko. He wasn't sure, but he was starting to get the impression that she didn't like him very much, given her attitude after his little 'accident'. He didn't have any real memory of what he saw when he exceeded 100% Sync Rate. Just bits and pieces. She didn't take well to that news. Misato had hauled her out of the room when Ritsuko had started yelling at him. For 'best friends' they sure argued a lot.

In the wake of the accident, it appeared he would missing plenty of school to participate in various 'tests' that would be run on the Eva. Shinji didn't mind, as long as nothing else went wrong. Better than facing the other kids.

While it was never as bad as his first day, it wasn't really getting better. He would sit by the window, right behind another vacant desk, trying not to be noticed. While the teacher droned on, Shinji found himself staring out the window, longing to go home.

Home was where he felt safe. With Misato, who he was warming up to, and Mari, who was proving to be both a source of joy, and a massive headache. Both rambunctious and endlessly sleepy, Mari was, like most cats, an enigma of sorts, that seemed to be almost human-like in attitude.

Pen Pen was also an interesting member of the household. While Mari was human-like in attitude, Pen Pen was human-like in intelligence. Shinji had noticed him 'reading' newspapers, and the penguin would also join Misato in front of the TV. Shinji wasn't sure if Pen Pen could actually comprehend language, or if he just liked the colors.

The only problem? Misato was starting to grow weary of Mari. While Shinji did keep her in his room, the mere presence of a cat in the same apartment as Misato was starting to affect her allergies. Shinji was constantly worrying about what to do. He had no idea, but he needed a solution soon.

He shut off the water and toweled himself off. The LCL from the Entry Plug was a sticky, smelly liquid, and so Shinji had been forced to be fitted with a Plug Suit. A brightly colored one-piece rubber suit, it used an air compression system to seal itself, and managed to be both uncomfortable to wear, and weirdly revealing. As it plastered itself to the skin, it clearly showed every bump and crevice on the body.

Shinji hated wearing it.

As Shinji was walking out of the shower, he found Ritsuko standing outside, tapping her foot impatiently.

Shinji immediately retracted into his shell. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Shinji. Rei Ayanami, the other Eva pilot, whom you met when you first got here, has just been released from the infirmary. Starting tomorrow, we are issuing new access cards for Nerv facilities. Here is yours, and I need you to give Rei her new one when you see her at school tomorrow, since we finished these right after she left. She should be in your class, so you don't have any excuse to not give it to her. I expect to see both you and her here again the day after tomorrow. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

As Shinji walked away, Ritsuko smirked to herself.

* * *

**September 8th, 2015**

Shinji sat quietly at his desk. He was looking around cautiously, keeping an eye out for Rei, whilst trying not to attract attention to himself.

The door opened. Shinji glanced over, and his eyes widened.

It was Rei.

She had a blank expression on her face as she walked over and sat down at the desk in front of Shinji's. She put her hand on her chin, and looked out the window. Shinji couldn't help but stare. Her blue hair, red-colored eyes, and pale white skin were certainly unusual.

He could hear the whispers of the other kids in the classroom, as they gossiped about the mysterious blue-haired girl's return.

"What do you think happened to her?"

"I heard she got super sick!"

"Nah that's bullshit, I heard she got in a big accident! My dad's a mechanic at Nerv, apparently, something went wrong a few days before Godzilla attacked!"

Shinji frowned. An accident. So that was how Rei got her injuries. But what kind of accident?

"I heard her robot went nuts! It tried to kill people!"

"Damn, she sounds as crazy as that Shinji!"

"Of course she's crazy, she's never said a word!"

"I think she's mute! And dumb! You know, like a retard?"

"She's kind of hot too!"

"Yeah if she wasn't a weirdo I'd totally try to bang her!"

"Bullshit man, I still want to bang her!"

"You boys always think with your dicks, shut up!"

"Doesn't matter, I'd totally hit that!"

Shinji shook his head in disbelief. Rei was sitting there quietly, not reacting to any of this.

Did she even hear them?

Did she care?

He shook his head. _How the hell am I supposed to talk to her?_

* * *

The bell rang for lunch. As the classroom quickly emptied, Rei grabbed her lunch box and walked out with the crowd. Shinji tried to follow her, but quickly lost track. He groaned in frustration. He grabbed his own lunch box and despondently trudged out of the classroom.

_Damn it! I can't even keep track of a single girl!_

He spent several minutes scouring the school grounds outside, where most of the kids ate. It was a clear and sunny day, and not too overly humid. Rather rare in this post-apocalyptic world. He couldn't find her. He was about to give up, when he spotted her out of the corner of his eye. She was sitting underneath a tree, situated away from the other students.

Shinji took a deep breath. _It's now or never._

He approached her cautiously, almost like she was an animal, afraid he might scare her away. Rei opened her lunch box, and pulled out a single slice of bread. She began to quietly munch on it.

"Um, hello?" Shinji tried.

No response. She continued to chew.

"Hi! My name's Shinji. We met at Nerv, before….."

_Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid._

"Uh, I'm sorry, forget I said that. I uh, I ah….."

Shinji continued to fumble over his words. He couldn't look directly at Rei, it was far too distracting for his confused 14-year old mind.

He sat down a couple of feet away from her. She didn't respond, only finishing her bread. She closed her box and stared vacantly into the distance.

_That's all she has to eat? A single slice of bread?_

"Um, Rei?"

"Yes?"

The sound of the quiet voice nearly caused Shinji to jump.

"Oh! Um, hi!"

"Yes?" She asked again, staring at Shinji.

_Ah, crap._

"Well, um, I noticed that you don't really have that much to eat, and I was, um, wondering if you'd like some of my lunch?" Shinji held his breath.

Rei stared blankly at Shinji. "What do you mean?"

"Well, um, you don't have a lot of food, and so I thought maybe we could share mine, if you don't mind, of course. I mean if you don't want to that's fine I understand it's just that….." Shinji trailed off, watching as Rei's blank expression took on a slight note of…..confusion?

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Shinji tried.

Rei sat silently for a moment, before responding in her quiet voice. "I'm afraid I do not understand your intention, Ikari."

"Alright. Here. Let me, uh, try again. And, uh, answer honestly. Are you hungry?"

Rei sat silently for a moment, before responding. "Yes. I am hungry."

_Ok, that's a start._

"Well, I have some food here, would you like some?"

Rei's expression changed slightly, softening a bit.

"But you said that it was _your_ food."

"Well, yes, it is," Shinji replied.

"Then why would you give some to me?"

Shinji paused for a moment, trying to figure out what to say.

"Well…..because you don't look like you have a lot of food, and you said yourself that you're hungry, so….."

Rei sat quietly for another moment.

"But then you would have less food."

Shinji was taken aback. "Well, yes, I suppose you're right."

"Then why would you give me some of your food?"

"Because….." _Crap! What do I say?_

"Because it's…..the right thing to do?" _Ah, stupid, stupid Shinji! Really, that's the best you can come up with?_

"I'm sorry Rei, I just don't know how else to explain this to you. I want you to have some of my food because I want _you_ to have enough food."

"But then you would have less food," Rei said again.

Shinji groaned in exasperation. "So? Who cares! You need food, just take it already! It wouldn't be right for you to not have enough food!"

Shinji opened his box and took out a rice ball, and thrust it into Rei's hands. She stared at it. Shinji sighed. "Just go ahead and eat it, it's OK."

She held it gingerly in her hands, and brought it up to her mouth. She took a bite out of it. Her blank expression took on a slight note of…..enjoyment. She quickly ate the whole rice ball.

She looked at Shinji, and cocked her head to the side. "That was…..enjoyable. How shall I repay you?"

"Eh, what?" Shinji sat back in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Rei spoke slowly, trying to make herself clear. "What do you want me to do in return for this food? I will do whatever you desire." She hesitantly got closer to Shinji. He tensed up immediately. She reached out and took his hand. "Do you want me to keep you company? It is customary for one to give something to one who takes care of them."

He gently freed his hand from her grasp. Thoughts flew his head, which he quickly tried to push out.

He laughed nervously. "No, um, that's not necessary Rei, don't worry about it."

She looked…..confused at his response. "Do you not want me to hold your hand? I can touch you other places if you want instead….." Rei got up and sat behind Shinji, and placed her hands on his shoulders. She started massaging them back and forth. Shinji sat in stunned silence. He didn't know how to react to the physical contact.

_Uhhhhhhhhhhh….…..why is this her first response to someone doing something nice for her? Does it have something to do with Father?_

At that thought, Shinji nearly jumped out of his skin. He jumped to his feet and backed away from Rei. "I'm so, so sorry Rei, ah, you don't need to do that, I mean, not that I didn't like it, but, uh, you shouldn't feel, um, obligated, or anything….." Shinji was blushing furiously at this point, while Rei remained seated, her ever-present blank expression still there.

"Was that not enjoyable for you Shinji?" Rei asked, clearly confused.

"No!" Shinji realized he had spoken louder than he had intended. He lowered his voice back to a normal level. "No, I mean, it was good, don't get me wrong, I didn't, um, mind it or anything, but you don't need to do that. Especially if you don't want to do it."

Rei looked directly up at Shinji. He made eye-contact with her, and tried not to panic.

_Wow….._

The sharp ring of the school bell cut through the moment, shattering the silence. Shinji flinched at the loud noise, whilst Rei calmly got up. She looked at Shinji, once again mesmerizing him with her stare. "I am not sure what to say, Ikari. I wish to repay you in some way for your…..kindness, but I do not know how."

It took Shinji a moment to process what she was saying. "Well…..you could say…..thank you. Yeah. That's all that's needed. Just a thank you, that's all."

Rei blinked. She looked…...surprised. But only for a brief moment. Her expression immediately faded back into her usual blank stare. She spoke quietly.

"Thank you, Ikari."

Rei turned and walked off without a backward glance, leaving Shinji in stunned, confused silence. It wasn't until he was sitting back in class that he remembered why he had gone up to Rei in the first place.

_Crap! I forgot to give her her new card!_

* * *

Shinji ran out the school's front doors, desperately trying to find Rei. The school day was over, and since he didn't know where Rei lived, if he didn't catch her now, he'd fail at the rather simple task of giving someone a new key card.

_She sits right in front of me! If I can't even do this, then what good am I worth?_

He spotted her walking down the street, heading towards the run-down part of town (the part that had already been run-down before Godzilla's attack). He started after her.

Suddenly, he was grabbed by the shoulder and spun around. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?" It was several of Shinji's classmates. They looked like they wanted to beat him up again. Shinji rolled his eyes in frustration, trying to mask his anxiety. "Please guys, not today, I've got something I need to do!"

He tried to wrestle free from their grasp, but it only resulted in him being thrown to the ground. He felt a foot press down on his back, keeping him pinned. He shut his eyes. _Let's get this over with._

The sound of an impact filled his ears, but he felt no pain. In fact, the foot keeping him pinned was suddenly gone.

Shinji opened his eyes.

It was Rei.

"What…"

In smooth, graceful motions, she took down the entire group of bullies. Kicks and punches were quickly executed, and in only a few seconds, several of the bullies were on the ground. The rest had already turned tail and ran, and were quickly followed by the ones on the ground, who scrambled to get away.

Shinji sat there in shock, mouth agape. He had barely had time to process this turn of events. Rei turned and stared blankly at him.

"You are bleeding," she stated.

Shinji looked down at his hands. They were scraped from his fall. "Well, I guess they are, but-"

Rei grabbed his wrist and pulled him to his feet, and then started walking, pulling Shinji along with her. His cheeks flushed.

He tried to protest. "No, wait a minute, I'm fine, I mean, I can just go clean up in the school bathroom, really, it's OK….."

His plea fell on seemingly deaf ears.

* * *

Shinji had fallen silent, just accepting the situation as it was. He allowed himself to be led to an old, rundown apartment building.

He was led through a broken gate, and past an out-of-order elevator. He climbed moldy stairs with Rei up to the 4th floor. Apartment 402. She opened the rusty metal door.

It wasn't locked.

Shinji's eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was a very small apartment, littered with trash, and absolutely filthy. Somehow, it was even worse than Misato's was before he moved in and began keeping it clean.

He was led to a small kitchen sink. Rei turned on the water faucet and let it run for several seconds, watching the water turn from a murky dark brown to a (fairly) clean stream.

She grabbed his hands and thrust them into the water. Shinji winced, but dealt with it, letting the water wash away the dirt and blood. He stared at Rei, who was peering intently at his hands.

_Well, she's definitely odd. Why did she drag me all the way back here?_

"Um, I think my hands are OK now, Rei."

She released his hands abruptly and walked away, leaving him to turn off the water and look through her cabinets for a clean rag. He found one that didn't look too bad, and dried his hands. He stared across the small, one-room apartment at Rei. She was lying down on her bed, belly first, staring at the wall.

_Well, now's as good a time as any to finally give her her new card._

He pulled it out of his pocket, and tried to get her attention. "Hey, Rei?"

She didn't respond.

He tried again. "Um, Rei?

Still no response.

_Well, I guess, um, I'll just…..leave the card here. Yeah._

"OK, well, I uh have your new Nerv Card. They're issuing new ones, and Ritsuko told me to give you yours, so…...here it is. I'll, um, set it on the counter, if that's alright….."

He was met with further silence.

He sighed, and set down the card. He looked around for a place to put the rag, since he didn't want to just put it back in the cabinet to grow mold.

"Uh, do you know where I can put this rag? Ah, who am I kidding, you'll just keep ignoring me. Whatever."

_And I was just starting to think someone wanted to be around me. Hell, I even kind of liked her._

He was about to just walk out, when he took one more look around the apartment. It was truly filthy.

Shinji sighed again. _One last try._

"You know what? I'm going to repay you for defending me by cleaning up this place a bit, OK?" _It's something I'm actually good at._

Rei actually did react this time. She sat up and stared at Shinji.

"Why?"

He was caught off guard. "Um, well, uh…..hi?"

"Why?" Rei repeated.

"OK, um, well…..could you explain a bit more?"

Rei blinked. "But…..I'm not supposed to talk unless necessary."

Shinji hadn't expected an answer like that. "Um, what do you mean?"

After a moment of hesitation, the usually unreadable Rei spoke rather transparently. "Commander Ikari says that I shouldn't talk. He says it's…..bothersome. I should remain silent unless he asks me a direct question, or when it is absolutely necessary that I speak. Otherwise, I am to just stand there and do what he says."

_That's not weird at all._

"OK…..well, um, when you're with me, you can speak whenever you want."

Rei's eyebrows raised a fraction of an inch. "Whenever I want?"

"Well, I mean, yeah."

"Well, Ikari, I am rather confused as to why you allowed yourself to be hurt earlier today. Why not fight back? Commander Ikari says we must defend ourselves from all threats."

Shinji felt anger rise up at another mention of his Father. "I don't care what my Father thinks. He's an abusive jackass who abandoned me as a child! Why should I listen to anything that idiot says?!"

Rei's expression hardened. She got up and crossed the room in several purposeful strides. She stopped inches from Shinji's face. He felt his cheeks heat up as he stared into her red eyes.

SLAP!

Shinji didn't process that Rei had slapped him until she was already walking back to sit down on her bed. He raised his hand to his cheek where her palm had made contact. It stung. Slightly.

"Don't disrespect Commander Ikari. He has cared for me all my life." Rei's voice had an edge of anger to it.

Shinji bowed his head shamefully. "I'm sorry. You're right, I shouldn't disrespect him. It's just…..hard, not to dislike him. I'm his son, but I barely know him. He left me when I was 4 years old! When my mom died! He only called me back into his life so he could use me to fight giant freaking monsters! And after I did, he hit me!"

"So? Commander Ikari hits me all the time."

Shinji's eyes grew wide with shock. "Wait, what?"

"Whenever I fail at something, he reprimands me for my failure. I live by what he taught me: I must always strive to please him."

Shinji shook his head in disbelief. _C'mon Shinji, you can do this, you can do this._ "Well, I'm telling you, Rei. That's bullshit. You hear me? Absolute bullshit. Children should _never_ be hit by adults. I don't know what other crap he's told you, but he's wrong. About everything."

Rei cocked her eyebrow. "Even about fighting back to protect yourself?"

"Well, I mean, I suppose he's right in that case. I _should_ defend myself. And thanks for sticking up for me today. I…..really appreciate that. I just…..I'm scared if I fought back, I'll lose control, like I did when I fought Godzilla. I don't want to accidentally seriously hurt them. They're just kids!"

"We are kids as well."

Shinji stared for a second, and then chuckled. "Well, you're not wrong."

Rei's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "What is humorous about what I said?"

Shinji laughed. "The way you said it, it just sounded so sarcastic!"

Rei looked utterly bewildered.

"Well, I fail to see the humor."

"That's OK. I'll teach you about this 'humor' thing, alright?"

Rei was taken aback. "But…..why?"

Shinji's grin faded. "Well, I mean, you protected me today. Doesn't that mean we're…..friends?"

_Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes….._

After a moment, Rei responded.

"I suppose that means we are."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -AlphaBeta17 (1/21/20)


	6. Hedorah

**September 16th, 2015**

Gendo stood on the walkway in the chamber that held Eva-01, staring up at the giant purple and green robot. After Shinji's accident, more restraints were added to the Eva, in hopes of avoiding another situation like it. Ironically, that wasn't the first time they'd done that.

_Fortunately, it didn't actually get free, like Rei did in Eva-00, back before Godzilla arrived. That was not part of the plan, but I was able to adapt to the circumstances. In a way, I'm glad it happened. Rei being injured turned out to be the key to getting Shinji to agree to pilot. Now, so long as there are no more big surprises, things should happen exactly as planned….._

"Sir!"

His thoughts were interrupted by Fuyutsuki, who was approaching.

"What is it?" Gendo asked, not taking his gaze off the Eva.

"Our scientists have reached their initial conclusions on Godzilla's origins. It appears to be some prehistoric creature, a remnant, that managed to survive long past when it was supposed to have died out. We think it might be a dinosaur, or an aquatic creature of some sort, we really don't know. We have traced its radioactive trail, and it appears to have originated from an island in the South Pacific, known as Lagos Island. We believe Godzilla was irradiated by nuclear bombs. During the fifties, it was a popular test site for hydrogen bombs."

"Really." Gendo was outwardly unreactive, but internally, his mind was racing.

' _The Monster made by man will rise.' From the ancient religious records of the Followers of Caesar. Unearthed by the country Selgina, originally called Nepal, following the Second Impact. It appears that Godzilla is the monster it spoke of._

"We tried tracking its radioactive trail back into the Pacific, after it fled, but it appears to have sunk itself into the Japan Trench. We aren't sure what happened to it, but as far as we know, it's still down there."

"Understood. Do you have anything else to tell me?"

Fuyutsuki shifted uncomfortably. Gendo frowned in annoyance. "Spit it out. I don't have all night."

Fuyutsuki took a deep breath. "OK. The ORCA has been activated. I set the frequency to a particularly low one, and by the sounds we received in return, a monster has already taken note of it. I shut it off immediately, of course, and whatever it is, it should arrive sometime tomorrow."

"Excellent. Asuka and Eva-02 are arriving tomorrow as well, on schedule yes?"

"Ryoji contacted me and confirmed that they are en-route, accompanied by Eva-02. It's already been prepared for battle, but we told Asuka that it'll be for an exhibition."

Fuyutsuki shifted on his feet before continuing.

"Do you think Shinji's ready for battle again? You specifically had Ritsuko deny him permission to train for combat in our Eva simulators, citing 'Syncing issues'. We both know that's not the case at all. Do you really want him to go back into battle with no more experience than he did last time?"

"Of course. Hopefully, he'll lose control and go berserk again. One more time is all we need. If he manages to keep a handle on himself, then Asuka will arrive and kill the monster before too much damage is done, and we'll try again in a few weeks. I dedicated my life to this. I _will_ succeed."

"But aren't you concerned about throwing him into the mix with Asuka? Don't you think it'll be too much for him?

Gendo's reply was cold. "I'm counting on it."

* * *

**September 17th, 2015**

"What the hell?! _This_ is where you've been living all this time?"

"Yes," Rei responded. "I fail to see the problem. Ikari helped me clean up my apartment. It is much better now."

Shinji rolled his eyes. "See? I told you, Misato! This place is terrible! No one should live here, especially not a 14-year old girl by herself! She wasn't even locking her door before I told her that she should probably start doing that!"

Rei glanced at Shinji briefly. He could have sworn she looked slightly insulted.

But it was worth it. It had been over a week since 'Shinji's eventful day with Rei' (a name Misato had come up with, and loved to tease Shinji with). Despite cleaning the entire apartment, Shinji had ultimately decided that it was in too ramshackle of a condition to be livable. Especially for someone like Rei, who didn't seem to have any knowledge of self-care.

So, he had dragged Misato down to Rei's apartment complex. Much to Rei's (hardly visible) chagrin.

"Well, this won't do at all! Damn it, I can't believe Commander Ikari set you up living here! I'm going back to Nerv, and we're transferring you!"

"Commander Ikari didn't place me here," Rei quietly stated.

"Huh? Then who the hell did?!" Misato yelled, getting quite agitated. _I can't believe it. Rei's always so quiet, and she never complains, so I never thought that anything was wrong! God, I'm such an idiot!_

"Dr. Akagi did."

"What?!" Misato groaned at that. _Really, Ritsu? It's like as soon as Godzilla appears, I start seeing this whole other side to you….._

"Well, Misato….." Shinji started nervously.

In his head, he kept repeating the same phrase. _Don't make this sound weird, don't make this sound weird, don't make this sound weird._

"We do have an extra bedroom in your apartment, right? Maybe…..Rei could stay with us?"

Shinji wanted to shove his head underground from embarrassment, but he forced himself to not retreat.

"Well, we do have an extra bedroom, so-"

A loud siren pierced the air of Tokyo-3. Almost immediately, Misato's phone went off. She quickly pulled it out of her pocket and flipped it open. She gasped.

"Shit! A monster's incoming! We need to get to Nerv now!"

* * *

Maya leaned forward at her desk, already analyzing the incoming data. Seated to either side of her, Makoto and Shigeru were also pouring over the footage, trying to determine the nature of the monster.

Shigeru snorted at the sight of the large, amorphous gray blob of a monster.

"Jeez, that thing is really weird, even by monster standards."

Maya chuckled. "Well we've only had two monster attacks so far, and one of those was in Germany. I'm still bummed we had to miss all the fun."

"All the fun? You just love these monsters, don't you?" Shigeru teased.

"I can't help it!" Maya said defensively. "They're so interesting! Unique biological specimens of such large size are inherently fascinating!"

"Ten bucks says this one can regenerate, just like Orga did in Germany!"

"You're on!"

Makoto shook his head. His two colleagues often bantered back and forth, while he was a lot quieter, preferring to focus on his work. While Shigeru was laid back, and Maya was enthusiastic, Makoto was rather serious. Maybe it was because he was older than the other two by several years, being around the same age as Ritsuko and Misato.

He quietly smiled to himself. _Misato….._

He quickly shook his head. _Not in a million years, forget about it. She only has eyes for Ryoji Kaji._

Maya suddenly squealed in excitement. "Someone get Dr. Akagi in here! It looks like the monster is made out of literal sludge! I mean, yeah that's horrible…..but it's so cool!"

Shigeru's eyes widened. "Hey! Let's call the thing Hedorah! See if Commander Ikari will use that name! We're the scientists analyzing it, we should get to name it!"

Maya loved that idea. "Yeah, let's go for it! Great thinking!"

Makoto smirked. _Yeah, there's definitely something going on between those two._

* * *

Shinji rocketed to the surface in his Eva. He felt his stomach lurch at the sudden motion, just like the first time.

He'd been in the Eva plenty of times since then, but he'd never had to actually do anything. Now, here he was, going off into battle against a mysterious monster. Again.

_At least I got to talk to Rei before all this._

Before he had left, he had gotten changed into his Plug Suit. He had to walk down the hallway from the locker room down to the Eva chamber, and he had been very self-conscious. Especially since he had walked out, and bumped right into Rei.

He had been on the verge of freaking out, but Rei didn't react to his skin-tight rubber suit, just walking with him quietly down the hallway to the Eva chamber.

Right before he got into the Entry Plug, she spoke. "I wish I could take your place."

"What?" Shinji was utterly confused at that.

She continued on. "You only became a pilot so that I wouldn't have to when I was injured. Now, my own Eva is still not ready, so you have to go back out on your own. I wish I could help you."

Shinji tried to comfort her. "Hey, it's OK. I'll be fine. I have experience now, so it shouldn't be that difficult." He really didn't feel that way, but he wasn't about to tell Rei that he was on the verge of running away in terror.

Rei stared at him directly. "You know that isn't true, Ikari."

Shinji's shoulders dropped. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

He climbed into the Entry Plug. He turned and looked back at Rei. Her blank expression softened. "Good luck," she quietly stated.

The Entry Plug slammed shut.

He did appreciate how she said she wanted to take his place. Of course, he'd never let her, but that she offered meant a lot to him. Plus, she'd been protecting him from the bullies at school the past few days. He didn't know how she was so strong, or how she knew how to fight, but he wasn't complaining. It was odd though. She could fight off an entire group of attackers, but struggled with holding a conversation.

The Eva reached the surface. Shinji shook his head, trying to concentrate.

On the control bridge of Central Dogma, Misato and Ritsuko stood behind the bridge technicians, watching the vast monitors that were playing the battle, while Gendo and Fuyutsuki stood at the back of the room.

Rei stood off to the side quietly.

Misato's voice filled the Entry Plug. "OK, Shinji. This is all the information we have so far. The UN has designated the monster's name as Hedorah, at Commander Ikari's suggestion. It appears to be a large living mass of sludge. No, I'm not kidding. It has two large red eyes, and is trying to feed on the fumes coming out of factories in the north sector of Tokyo-3. Approach it cautiously. Try engaging it with one of the Positron Rifles first, since it appears to lack thick armored skin like Godzilla and Orga did."

Though he hadn't been there for Orga's attack, he had been fully briefed on the attack and the monster itself. He was rather glad that there was an apparently highly-skilled Eva pilot out there, though the existence of multiple Evas wasn't something he celebrated.

"Yes, ma'am." Shinji walked the Eva forward gingerly, watching every step for people below in the streets. A warehouse sprang open, and he grabbed the 10-meter rifle. He could see Hedorah up ahead. It was hard to tell if it had any physical features, besides its enormous red eyes.

He aimed the rifle once he was several hundred meters away. He took a deep breath. _Just aim, and pull the trigger._

He fired the rifle.

The bolt of energy went right through Hedorah, and impacted on a building behind the monster. Shinji knelt down to get a better look, and for a brief second, he could see straight through Hedorah; there was a clear tunnel cut right through the living sludge. Then, the hole sealed itself.

Ritsuko rolled her eyes. "Well, that didn't work."

Suddenly, Hedorah began to growl, deep and guttural. Shinji could hear it from inside the Eva. It sounded distinctly like a garbage truck.

"Um, guys? What's it doing?" Shinji asked nervously.

Hedorah's body began to morph. Two large legs sprouted from underneath it, and it stood up, taller than Eva stood by 15 meters. Arms came out of its midsection, and it turned to look directly at the Eva.

"Hold your position, Shinji! Let it come to you!" Misato warned, hoping that Shinji wouldn't panic.

Shinji wanted to panic.

_Don't run away, don't run away, don't run away….._

Hedorah emitted a gurgling roar, and launched itself into the air. Propelled by poisonous fumes streaming out of vents on the underside of its body, it flew directly towards Shinji. He pulled the trigger on the rifle, again and again, trying desperately to dissuade the monster. The shots were as ineffective as the first one, just passing right through Hedorah.

Right before it hit the Eva, Shinji jumped out of the way. Hedorah passed right by him, and one of its arms reached out and snagged the Eva's arm. Immediately, pain surged through Shinji, and his yells echoed through the bridge of Central Dogma.

"The armor plating that's in contact with Hedorah is melting! Its very touch is toxic!" Shigeru yelled.

"Shinji, retreat, retreat!" Misato yelled desperately.

Shinji flailed about wildly, trying to free himself from Hedorah's grasp. Hedorah turned to face the Eva. It pulled the robot closer to its body, and peered at the Eva's mechanical head.

From Shinji's perspective, Hedorah was staring directly at him. Not only that, but the noxious fumes coming off of Hedorah's body were starting to seep into the Eva itself. Even inside the Entry Plug, submerged in LCL, Shinji could smell the disgusting mix of chemicals and pollution. His head started to feel woozy, and with a sinking feeling, he realized he might pass out again.

"No! Please! Someone help me!" Shinji screamed in panic, terrified of losing control again. He managed to pull free from Hedorah's grasp, and he fell over, crushing buildings underneath the Eva's massive size. He scrambled away from Hedorah, while it started shooting lasers out of its eyes, gouging searing lines across the Eva's metal armor.

To Shinji, it felt like he was being lashed by a whip.

He shakily got to his feet, and tried running away, but it ended up being more of an amble, as he swayed from side to side, already delirious from the pain and fumes. Hedorah took off, and flew after the Eva, keeping pace with it.

Rei watched all of this unfold with an unchanging expression. Internally, however, the usually unreactive girl was feeling the stirrings of worry and fear. These emotions confused her, and she reflexively tightened her fists at the sight of her friend in pain.

Misato was hysterical. "How in the hell is he going to be able to fight a monster that injures him with its touch? The Positron Rifle's beam went right through it, and assumedly, so will Shinji's Prog Knife! We need to get him out of there, now! Look at the damage it's already done!"

The Eva's outer armor plating on its arm was dripping off the robot, and cracks were starting to spread from where the lasers sliced through it as well.

Misato's mind raced. _What can we do to hurt it? Physical damage from external sources seem to be ineffective…..maybe if we used something on Hedorah internally? That's what Asuka did in Germany….._

* * *

Asuka was nearly giddy with excitement. After several boring hours of flight crossing Eurasia in the state-of-the-art Intercontinental Eva Carrier, they were almost to Japan. Her guardian, Ryoji, had just informed her that a monster had been spotted near Tokyo-3, and that she was to pilot her Eva into battle against it.

Having already defeated Orga, she was sure that this next battle would go just as smoothly.

Ryoji's phone went off, and he immediately answered it. After a moment, he hung up. He turned to Asuka.

"The monster has been named Hedorah. Apparently, Tokyo-3's resident Eva pilot, Shinji Ikari, has already been deployed into battle against it."

Asuka frowned. "Wait, Ikari? Isn't that the name of the Commander of Nerv?"

"Yes. Commander Ikari's son is an Eva pilot. He's very inexperienced, and his father believes that he will be unable to defeat the monster, so we're deploying you right now. We'll give you information on the monster after Shinji has engaged it. For now, get your Plug Suit on, and be ready to deploy!"

"Yes, sir!" Asuka cheerily responded, and went off to get changed.

* * *

Misato suddenly had a burst of inspiration. "I've got an idea! It seems that Hedorah just lets objects pass passively right through it, so in theory, we should be able to just have Shinji run up to it and stick something inside of it, and it should go right in!"

Makoto spoke up. "We could use an N² bomb! We could shove it into Hedorah and blow it up from the inside! The force of the blast might just be enough to hurt it!"

"Hey, that's a pretty good idea! Thanks, Makoto!"

The usually quiet technician blushed at the compliment, while Misato told Shinji the plan. He eagerly changed directions towards Nerv, thankful for the solution.

"No." Gendo Ikari's voice startled everyone. Misato gave him a confused look. "But sir! We don't have any other options!"

Gendo smirked. "I believe one just arrived."

A new voice rang out. "Hey! Where's the monster I need to beat up?"

Misato's eyes widened. "Asuka? Is that you?"

"Yep! Mr. Kaji and I have just arrived to save the day!"

Maya, Shigeru, and Makoto all gave each other confused looks. They knew about Asuka and Eva-02 stationed in Munich, but hadn't been informed that they would be arriving to help with the battle. Given Misato's panicked expression, neither had she.

Maya noticed movement on the screen, and was the first to see the incoming Eva, running in a full out sprint, coming right for Nerv. "Um, Dr. Akagi? I believe she's already deployed."

"Yes, I know," Ritsuko replied nonchalantly.

Misato and the bridge technicians were all terribly confused now. Even Rei looked slightly surprised.

Misato's expression took on a bright shade of red. "Why the _hell_ wasn't I informed Asuka was going to be participating in this fight?!"

Gendo supplied the answer. "It was on a need-to-know basis. And you didn't need to know. Asuka, we have the N² bomb all ready for you. Pick it up, and run straight for Hedorah. Shinji, are you still listening?" His was deadly calm, while Misato stood there fuming.

"Yeah…..I'm listening." Shinji's voice was tired. Though he wasn't the one physically running, the mental energy he was expending controlling the massive mech was beginning to take a toll on him. Not to mention the pain from Hedorah's attacks.

"You will keep Hedorah's attention to provide time for Miss Soryu to execute the plan. Stop moving immediately, and face Hedorah."

"Wait! Sir, Hedorah's touch is toxic! Shinji's Eva can't touch it, or he'll feel the pain from it!" Misato tried to reason with Gendo, to no avail.

"That is of no concern. Shinji, stop running immediately!" Gendo's voice was quickly growing annoyed. Even while running away from Hedorah, Shinji could make out the irritation in his father's voice. "But I can't stop! If I touch Hedorah, the Eva will be even more damaged!" Shinji desperately tried to appeal to financial reason, but Gendo didn't care about that either. He raised his voice in anger.

"Shinji Ikari! If you do not stop the Eva right now, you will be directly disobeying my orders, and I will not hesitate to have you locked up for treason!"

Silence fell over the bridge.

"I've got the bomb! Somebody tell that stupid Shinji to quit whining and do his freaking job!" Asuka's voice broke the silence.

Everyone immediately responded. The bridge technicians returned to their work, and Shinji finally stopped running. He turned the Eva around, and was grabbed by Hedorah within seconds. Once again, his scream rang out.

Asuka's Eva quickly approached the grappling giants. Hedorah was so preoccupied with Shinji, it didn't notice Asuka closing in with the bomb.

Asuka grinned in excitement. She jumped over a line of buildings and landed right next to Hedorah. She swung the bomb in a wide arc over her head, and plunged it straight into Hedorah.

"I did it! Do you need my help, or are capable of fighting your own battles?" Asuka taunted Shinji.

"No," Gendo stated. "Retreat immediately, Asuka."

The grin fell off her face. "But, shouldn't I help him?"

"No."

Asuka looked back at Shinji's Eva, grappling with Hedorah, then burst out into a sprint back to Nerv, not about to disobey Commander Ikari.

Shinji tried to pull himself free, but Hedorah was starting to pull the Eva inside of itself, sinking the metal robot into its poisonous sludge. Shinji's screams began to grow hoarse.

Gendo didn't care. "Detonate the bomb immediately!"

Maya gasped, while Makoto and Shigeru stared at each other in shock. Misato swung around in panic. "No, wait!"

Ritsuko didn't hesitate. She pressed the button on her control pad, detonating the bomb.

The explosion blew apart Hedorah, raining toxic sludge over the industrial sector of Tokyo-3. Shinji's Eva was blasted away, and came crashing to a stop outside of the city. After only a minute, the smoke from the explosion cleared, revealing the damage. All that was left at the epicenter of the blast were two white orbs, laying on the ground.

Asuka rushed forward, intent on destroying them.

"No, wait!" Gendo yelled.

It was too late. Asuka jumped up and dived at the orbs, drawing her Prog Knife as she went. She stabbed one of the orbs, and pulled her knife free and swung it around, slashing the other orb. After a moment, the orbs imploded, knocking over her Eva.

But only for a moment. The Eva clambered back to its feet, and Asuka grinned in triumph.

"I did it! Hell yeah! I'm the best damn Eva pilot in the world!"

* * *

**September 18th, 2015**

Shinji opened his eyes, and immediately groaned.

_Not again….._

He was in the medical wing of Nerv, waking up for the third time under an unfamiliar ceiling. Though at that point, it wasn't exactly unfamiliar.

Shinji looked around, and was surprised to find Rei sitting quietly in a chair next to his bed.

She was staring at him.

He stared back at her, not sure how to respond.

After a minute of silence, he gave up and relented.

"What are you doing here?" Shinji mumbled.

"I was waiting for you to wake up," she stated.

"Yeah, but why?"

"What do you mean?"

Shinji groaned, and he responded in an annoyed tone. "Why would you sit here, waiting for _me_ to wake up? Don't you have anything _else_ to do?"

Rei sat quietly for a moment, before responding. "No. I do not. I was just waiting for my friend to wake up. I was…..worried about you."

Shinji's annoyance faded. His expression softened as guilt overtook him.

"I'm sorry. That was mean of me. You're just trying to be a good friend, and I snapped at you."

Rei looked down, not knowing how to respond. Shinji took a deep breath.

"Look, I'm not good at this. I guess what I'm trying to say is…..thanks."

"It is alright, Ikari."

Shinji smiled at her.

"Please, call me Shinji."

She looked back up at him, her eyes wide.

"Is that what you wish?"

Shinji chuckled. "Well, you said we're friends, right? Friends aren't so formal with each other. They're supposed to be comfortable with each other. It's a sign of their trust."

Rei stared at him, her expression unreadable. Finally, she softened.

"OK. Shinji."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided while writing this chapter to devote some time to the bridge technicians, so they won't just be background characters. I hope I did Hedorah justice here in this fight, it was a lot of fun to write!
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (1/28/20)


	7. Cruel Dilemma

**September 25th, 2015**

"Damn it! We're going to be late for school you idiot! Finish breakfast already!"

Shinji moved hurriedly around the kitchen, desperately trying to finish breakfast for himself and his new roommate.

Unfortunately for Shinji, it wasn't Rei.

"Hey! What's taking so long? What are you, stupid?!"

"I'm trying, Asuka! I'm going as fast as I can!" Shinji desperately tried to reassure her.

It didn't stop her from marching over and reaching out to smack him on the back of the head. Again.

"Ow!" Shinji had tried to duck, but had banged his head against one of the kitchen cabinets. Asuka stood impatiently behind him, while he tried to will breakfast to cook faster.

He groaned. How the _hell_ did he land himself in this situation?

* * *

After Shinji woke up following the battle with Hedorah (he had only been unconscious for a day this time), he had found out that Asuka had a history with Misato. Several years ago, she had lived with Misato, much like Shinji was now, and so when she came back to Tokyo-3, she had been expecting to stay with Misato again.

Misato had caved in, destroying Shinji's hopes of getting to be roommates with Rei instead. Now, he had the privilege of waking up every morning to a grumpy redhead yelling from her bedroom for Shinji to 'wake up and make me my breakfast!' If he didn't do it fast enough, she would inevitably hit him.

To make matters worse, Asuka's guardian from Germany, a certain Ryoji Kaji, turned out to be an ex-boyfriend of Misato's, and had settled in an apartment on the floor beneath theirs. Now, she often spent nights down at his apartment 'catching up' as she put it.

Given Shinji's first meeting with Ryoji, he kind of doubted that.

"So! You must be Shinji Ikari!" Ryoji had said, sticking out his hand for Shinji to shake. Shinji had hesitantly shook it, very aware of a panicking Misato standing behind him. Then, Ryoji had leaned forward and not-so-quietly whispered in Shinji's ear: "Does Misato still roll around in her sleep?"

Despite Misato's furious response to that at the time, it had only taken a couple of days before she was spending nights down at her ex-boyfriend's apartment. Leaving Shinji to fend for himself with Asuka, who had quickly decided that Shinji 'wasn't much of a man.'

Their first meeting in person had been when they had gotten back to Misato's apartment after getting out of the medical wing at Nerv. He had walked in with Rei, wanting to finally introduce her to Mari, only to find boxes filling the hallway to the bedrooms, and a loud redhead swearing in German as she tried to move the boxes into the spare room. The room Shinji had been hoping Rei could stay in.

Asuka had come out of the room, and stopped at the sight of Shinji and Rei. She walked forward with her hands on her hips, and looked Shinji up and down, inspecting him. After a moment, she had reached her judgment.

"So. You don't look like much of a _man_ , do you?"

"What?" Shinji didn't really know how to respond to something like that.

"Well, you're absolutely shit at piloting the Eva, so you're pretty worthless. Your father should kick you out on the streets now that I'm here, since you'll just get in my way."

Shinji had been so taken aback he just stood there, not responding. After a moment, she had harumphed, mockingly said, "I knew it," and went back into her room. But only after giving her two cents on Rei.

"Oh, and you brought the doll with you. Misato moved her into an apartment at the end of the hallway last night. You'll need to escort her back to it, since she probably can't find her way back to it herself."

As he found out over the course of the week, Asuka despised Rei, mainly due to Rei's lack of response to any attempts on Asuka's part to get her riled up. Not only that, but since Shinji was 'a shit pilot,' that meant that Asuka's main rival for the title of 'World's Best Eva Pilot' was Rei Ayanami.

All things considered, it had been a pretty miserable week for Shinji.

Asuka ran out the door with the toast between her teeth, while Shinji quietly trailed behind her. Asuka ran down the hallway to the elevator, and shoved Rei to the ground, who was patiently waiting for Shinji. "Out of my way, doll!" Asuka had gleefully yelled.

As Shinji approached Rei, she got to her feet without a word.

"Are you OK?" Shinji asked.

"I am OK…..Shinji." Rei was still getting used to referring to Shinji by his first name.

"OK, good," Shinji replied, falling into step beside Rei. Now that she lived in the same building as he did, they had taken to walking to and from school together. They didn't really talk much, but their silence was a comfortable silence; neither felt the need to say anything.

* * *

Misato groaned as she stretched her legs, which were tangled in Ryoji's sheets. She pressed her hand to her forehead. _I need to stop doing this every night_.

Misato's newly rekindled relationship with Ryoji was very odd, even by her standards. After all, they didn't really talk.

Correction. They didn't talk at all.

She crawled out of the bed and stumbled back up to her apartment. As she got ready for work, she reflected on the past week.

The day Shinji had gotten out of the medical wing, Ryoji had cornered her in an elevator. She had tried to tell him off for his crude remark about her to Shinji, but before she knew it, they were making out, just like they used to.

That was about the extent of their conversations. She _really_ didn't want to discuss their past relationship, and it seemed he didn't either. They were both seemingly OK with this purely physical arrangement.

On top of all that, she had taken to drinking before going down to his apartment for the night. While it was quite common for her to drink every evening, she was drinking so much now that she was actually blacking out, something that hadn't happened to her in several years. This left her feeling rather crappy in the mornings. She never even saw Ryoji, since he was always taking off to work on 'secret Nerv business for Gendo' as he put it.

She sighed. She didn't really trust Ryoji, but she wasn't about to ask what it was he was doing for Gendo, since those in the past who asked questions about Gendo's many secret activities around the world tended to mysteriously disappear.

_Is it possible that Ryoji is involved with some of those disappearances? I hope not…..but he has always worked directly under Gendo, and now that he's here in Tokyo-3, who knows what those two are up to. And then there's Ritsuko. I thought we were best friends, but she's been acting differently ever since Godzilla attacked. I wonder if there's anything else she's hiding that I don't know about._

* * *

"Does Misato still not know about Dr. Akagi and Commander Ikari?" Shigeru's voice was filled with sarcasm.

"Actually, I believe that's the case. I think we'd know if she knew that her best friend has been banging her boss," Makoto dryly remarked.

"Oh come on!" Maya was quick to jump in. "Of course Misato knows! Even the kitchen staff know by now, how could she not know about it!"

"Probably because Ritsuko has been very particular about Misato not finding out." Makoto was right. It was an open secret at Nerv that Ritsuko and Gendo had been hooking up for at least two years. Well, open to everyone except Misato.

Makoto had given real thought to telling Misato, but he figured that Gendo had probably been the one who made the call to keep her in the dark. And though he did like Misato, he wasn't stupid enough to risk Gendo's wrath.

Especially given the rumors he had overheard from some of the mechanical staff, who numbered in the hundreds, about things that had happened back before he had started working for Nerv. Things about how Misato was a survivor of the Second Impact. And how the Evas were originally designed by Nakao Akagi, Ritsuko's mother. Who was conveniently dead.

"I mean, I guess you're right. Damn, now that I think about it, there's probably a lot of secrets going on in this place we don't know about," Maya relented.

Shigeru nodded in response. "After all, we're the ones who oversee the Evas, but we know next to nothing about their internal systems or how they were constructed. We're just told how to monitor and operate them, and that's it."

"And then there's the way Commander Ikari treats his own son," said Makoto. "He's a pretty shitty father if you ask me."

Maya laughed at that. "Talk about being a shitty father, he's a shitty person! I can't believe Ritsuko would actually hook up with him! Did you guys hear what he said about Rei that one time? 'She's the vessel for a far greater purpose. Right now she's just inhabiting that body.' Shit like that is weird!"

Shigeru chuckled. "He thought we couldn't hear him saying that. What an idiot!"

Makoto wasn't so sure. "But he's not. He's pretty damn smart. I mean, in some ways, he's the most powerful person in the world right now. Maybe he intentionally lets things slip, you know, to scare us into not asking questions."

Maya stopped and thought about that for a second. "That would require serious control and planning to do something like that. Do you think he's capable of that?"

Makoto's tone turned grim. "Maybe. That's the point. We don't know."

* * *

Shinji was quietly sitting in his room, petting Mari, and listening to his SDAT player. He was, until Asuka threw open his bedroom door and marched in. She stood impatiently, tapping her foot, waiting for him to acknowledge her presence. He sighed, and took out his earbuds.

"What can I do for you," he asked quietly.

"My laundry needs to be done." It wasn't a question, it was a declaration.

Shinji wanted to tell her: 'No! Do your own damn laundry!'

But he knew if he did, the most likely response he would get is something along the lines of: 'But since _you're_ the one who's not a real man, that means you get to do all the chores! Stop whining like the little girl you are and just do it already!'

And if he still didn't relent, she'd probably hit him.

So, Shinji just nodded his head, and set Mari down. Asuka smirked in response, and went back to her room, shoving her laundry basket out into the hallway, then slamming her door shut.

Shinji stared down at it in defeat. He felt shame curl up inside his chest.

MEOW?

Mari brushed up against his leg, and stared up at him with her one good eye, almost as if she were saying 'Just get it over with.'

"OK, OK, I'm going….."

As he carried the laundry basket through the kitchen to the laundry room, Pen Pen poked his head out of his freezer, checking to see if the coast was clear. Asuka hated the hot spring penguin, saying he was 'weird and freaky'. She refused to let Shinji give Pen Pen his breakfast fish in the mornings, since it 'smells like piss' and so Shinji had to give him all of his fish in the evenings. It was another thing he wanted to talk to Misato about, but he wasn't brave enough to raise the question in front of Asuka.

_It's not like Misato to forget about Pen Pen. She told me she rescued him from a lab she worked at years ago, and ever since she almost treats him like he's a human. It's all that Ryoji Kaji's fault. Something's up with him._

He set out some fish for Pen Pen, who gratefully WARKED in response and began gobbling down his food. Shinji got Asuka's first load of laundry going, then stood back and stared around the apartment. A strange feeling came over him.

_I shouldn't have to put up with this. I don't want to do it. But I can't face Asuka….._

Shinji shut off the washing machine, and quietly crept back to his room. He picked up Mari in his arms, and left the apartment. He went down the hallway, and stopped in front of one of the other doors. Rei's apartment.

He raised his hand, and knocked three times on the door. Within only a few seconds, he heard the sound of the door unlocking, and it swung open, revealing Rei, staring at him with a curious expression on her face. Then she noticed the young cat in his arms.

"Is that….."

"Yeah, this is Mari. I'm sorry it took so long to finally introduce you two, but I never had the chance our first week as friends, and this past week, Asuka's been living with me. She said I can't bring you over."

At the mention of Asuka's name, Rei briefly stiffened, before returning to her neutral expression.

She turned around and walked back into the apartment, leaving Shinji to come in and close the door behind him. They went and sat on the couch that had come with the apartment. Mari shifted from his arms, and Shinji looked hesitantly at Rei. "Do you mind if I set her down," he asked.

After a moment, she quietly responded "yes."

Mari hopped onto the couch and immediately began to explore. While she hadn't met Rei yet, the scent was somewhat familiar; Shinji spent enough time near Rei at school that her smell clung to him a little bit.

The black cat walked up to Rei and started sniffing her arm. Rei stared down at Mari, not really sure what to do.

Shinji chuckled. "It's OK. Just hold out your hand."

Rei hesitantly offered her hand to Mari, who leaned forward and sniffed it. After pulling back for a second, digesting the smell, Mari rubbed her head against Rei's hand.

Rei flinched slightly, causing Mari to pull back.

"It's OK, it's fur," Shinji tried to reassure Rei.

"I know what fur is," Rei stated. "I've…..never felt it before. It's very soft."

Mari leaned forward again, and rubbed her head against Rei's hand. Rei responded after a moment, gingerly stroking the black cat's ears. Shinji watched Rei's face, and noticed her relaxing slightly.

Without much warning, Mari crawled forward onto Rei's lap. She sat down on her back legs, and lifted her head up in a wide yawn, revealing her sharp teeth. Rei stared down at Mari's sharp teeth and pink mouth, fascinated.

The small black cat curled up on Rei's lap, wrapping its tail around its body, and shut its eyes. Shinji raised an eyebrow.

"Hm. I guess she feels you aren't a threat," Shinji remarked quietly.

Rei lifted one of her hands and placed it on Mari's back, gently stroking it.

Shinji stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt Rei's moment.

Soft purs flowed through the air, creating a calming atmosphere.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Rei spoke.

"Why is she missing an eye?"

Shinji had theories, but he didn't know for certain. "My best guess would be that she was attacked by another animal. Maybe even another cat. Fortunately, her other eye still works just fine."

"She was injured."

"Yeah."

More silence ensued. As Rei stroked Mari, she suddenly decided to do something rare.

"Shinji."

"Yeah?"

"I wish to tell you about how I was injured. Before you arrived."

_She wants to tell me about that? I didn't even ask about it, she wants to do it. That's really weird, but I'm not turning this down. Who knows when she'll feel this comfortable again._

"...OK."

* * *

"Activate Eva!"

"Yes, sir!"

Ritsuko tapped her control pad, which started the Sync Process between Rei and Eva Unit-00. Maya, Shigeru, and Makoto were all on standby, ready to step in to help if anything went wrong.

For the first time ever, a person was Syncing with an Eva.

Gendo was personally overseeing this test, especially since it involved Rei.

He was standing behind a pane of reinforced glass overlooking the holding chamber for Eva-00. Since it was the first one built, the control bridge of Central Dogma was built directly next to it. The chamber for the recently completed Eva-01 was nearby, and so was an empty chamber for Eva-02, once it finished construction in Germany and was moved to Tokyo-3.

Inside the Entry Plug, Rei was syncing with the Eva. Her mind was blank, as always. Years of training at Gendo's hands, learning how to not think, were responsible for this.

Ritsuko watched the readings carefully. Before now, everything had been theoretical. While both Rei and Asuka had Synced before, it was always with the simulators. This allowed them to practice combat, and to get used to the physical side of the experience, but nothing could prepare a person for actually taking control of an Eva. A 50-meter tall 'robot'. At least that was what everyone called it.

_If people knew what the Evas actually were, they would be horrified. You did a marvelous job Mom. Too bad you had to snap._

Alarms went off, and communication with the Entry Plug was suddenly cut off. The massive mech began to move, pulling against its restraints.

While the bridge technicians and Ritsuko furiously tried to figure out what was going on, Gendo stepped closer to the glass, peering down into the Eva-00 chamber.

The mech opened its mouth and let out a ferocious roar, that sounded almost human, but distorted. Trapped.

Trying to break free.

Gendo's eyes narrowed.

"Naoko," he whispered under his breath.

The Eva tore its arms right out of the restraints. It sloshed forward through the purple liquid that the Evas were stored in, trying to reach Central Dogma.

It could see Gendo standing beyond the glass.

Its fist came smashing forward, creating a dent in the wall above the window. Its hands scrabbled at the wall, trying to tear pieces of it off, trying to get inside.

To reach him.

"Rei's completely unconscious! We need to neutralize the Eva immediately!" Maya's voice was filled with panic, while Makoto and Shigeru desperately tried to shut down the Eva's power.

"It's no good! Something has overridden our commands and locked us out!"

"The only thing we still have control over is the Entry Plug itself!"

Gendo made a split-second decision.

"Eject Entry Plug."

Ritsuko didn't hesitate. She pressed a button on her control pad, and the Entry Plug shot right out of the Eva, which immediately keeled over, slumping against the wall. The Entry Plug ricocheted off the ceiling and slammed into the wall, bouncing off of it and falling into the liquid below.

Gendo stared down at it. "Maybe don't eject it quite so hard next time, Dr. Akagi. It could damage the Plug."

Several minutes later, a retrieval team was sent down to rescue Rei. The Entry Plug was picked up by a giant mechanical claw and deposited on the walkway. Gendo was the one who personally opened the Entry Plug and pulled Rei out, while the medical staff stood by to rush her to the medical wing.

Gendo had insisted on it. "She must associate me in her mind as the one who protects her. Otherwise, we'll have to start over." He had only told this to Ritsuko of course.

_Clever idea on my part to conveniently have Misato sent on a diplomatic trip to the UN. She questions things too much for her own good. Once we have all three pilots in Tokyo-3, Ryoji will have to 'distract' her, so she doesn't start poking around._

He reached his hands out to turn the manual release handle on the Entry Plug. As soon as he touched the metal, sizzling flesh could be heard, and he jerked his hands back, having burned himself.

"Shit! Someone get me a pair of gloves or something!"

Gendo stood impatiently while one of the staff took off their work gloves and gave them to him. He slid them on and cautiously turned the handle, then pulled open the door.

Inside the Plug, Rei opened her eyes at the sound. She looked up and met Gendo's gaze. He stared down at her.

"Good job surviving. It would be a setback if you died."

After a moment, Rei responded.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

"I was injured by the ejection of the Entry Plug. The force from it hitting the ceiling broke several bones in my body. This was about three months ago, specifically, three weeks before you arrived."

Rei hadn't taken her eyes off of Mari while telling the story.

Shinji sat quietly for a few minutes, digesting the information.

"That sounds terrible. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Rei looked up Shinji, giving him a strange look. He squirmed under her gaze, and looked away. She turned her attention back to Mari.

"I used to play the cello," he quietly stated.

Rei furrowed her eyebrows. "The one with strings?"

"Yeah, well, one of the ones with strings. Bigger and deeper than a violin or viola, but smaller and higher than a bass."

Rei nodded her head slowly. "I know what a cello is, Shinji. I've just never heard one before. Or most instruments. Commander Ikari always told me music was a distraction. That it only brings pain to people. He said I should never listen to it."

Shinji felt anger course through him. _Of course, my Father said that._

"You said you used to play the cello. Why do you no longer?"

"A year ago, the other kids from where I grew up broke into the house I lived at. They destroyed my cello, since they knew I loved playing it."

Rei looked at Shinji. In the couple of weeks she had known him, she had slowly become more perceptive of his facial expressions. Right now, he looked sad.

"I'm…..sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Rei."

"But you told me sorry, even though you didn't injure me."

Shinji paused. After a moment, a wry smile crossed his face. "Yeah, I guess you're right. You got me there."

Rei looked back down at Mari.

After another minute of silence, she asked him something.

"Why did you tell me you played the cello?"

Shinji didn't really know.

"Uh. Well…..I guess since you told me something that happened to you, I felt it was only fair to do the same."

Rei didn't respond, absorbed with Mari.

An idea came to Shinji as he watched them.

"You know, Misato said that I can't keep Mari forever, and Asuka isn't really a fan of her either. For now, Mari's safe, but unlike with Pen Pen, Misato won't refuse to kick her out if Asuka pushes the matter. Maybe Mari could stay with you."

Rei froze at the suggestion. She slowly turned to look at Shinji. "But I don't know how to take care of another living being."

Shinji got more and more into the idea. "Well, the only way to learn is by doing it! I live right down the hallway, so I can show you how! Besides, I think it'd be good for you, so that you don't have to live alone anymore."

Rei pondered the idea. She had always lived alone, so the idea of sharing a living space was daunting. But Shinji was right. Maybe it would be good for her.

After a moment, she made up her mind.

"OK. I will take care of Mari."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title is based off the song 'Cruel Dilemme' on the first Evangelion Rebuild soundtrack (I don't know why it's in french).
> 
> This chapter was a bit on the slow side, but I felt that it was necessary, since it sets up a lot of stuff that will become really important later on down the line.
> 
> This entry in the Evangelion X Godzilla story will have 12 chapters. My goal is for it to function as its own story, with a beginning, middle, and end, but also serve as the first act of three in the overarching story, since I've decided there will be three entries in the Evangelion X Godzilla story.
> 
> The next chapter will be an action-based chapter, with a monster attack, and it will recreate one of the most iconic moments from Neon Genesis Evangelion, so I'm really looking forward to it.
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (2/4/20)


	8. Anguirus, Baragon, and Varan

**September 30th, 2015**

Shinji, Rei, and Asuka all shot up to the surface in their respective Evas: Shinji in the green and purple colored Unit-01, Asuka in the red colored Unit-02, and Rei in the now fully repaired blue colored Unit-00.

They were being deployed into battle against a new incoming monster. It was fast approaching Tokyo-3 from the north, reaching speeds higher than any of the three previous monsters ever achieved.

Misato was already reviewing footage from helicopters that were monitoring the monster's approach. It appeared to be a brownish armadillo-like monster with a spiked shell, and was moving by curling inside its shell and rolling.

The bridge technicians had already named it Anguirus, saying it was a fun 'play on the word Ankylosaurus, the name of a dinosaur with a similar spiked shell on its back'.

Misato went along with it.

Gendo, Ryoji, and Fuyutsuki were all in attendance, watching from behind the bridge technicians, while Ritsuko and Misato stood in front of them, coordinating with the pilots. This was the first time they were all in the same place together.

Asuka was confident that the battle would go smoothly. Anguirus was on the smaller side, only being about 25 meters tall, and so despite its massive mobility, she was sure that killing it wouldn't be an issue.

Rei was ambivalent. Her Eva was finally fully repaired, and so this was her first time being deployed into battle. While she could be described as nervous, she had been molded to suppress such feelings, leaving her with an outward air of calm entering the battle.

Shinji wasn't nearly as frightened as he had been with his previous two battles. Now with both Asuka and Rei here alongside him, he took solace from the fact that while he may be 'a shit pilot' (as Asuka had frequently reminded him in the two weeks since their battle with Hedorah), he would be able to let her do most of the fighting.

What he was most concerned about was Rei. Being her first battle, he feared that she could be seriously hurt, though she didn't share his concern.

Before they had entered their respective Entry Plugs, much like before he had gone off to fight Hedorah, they were able to briefly talk first.

"Well, um, I guess I'll see you after the battle?" Shinji's voice had been nervous as he spoke.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not." Rei's answer did little to calm Shinji's anxiety for her.

"What?! What do you mean?!"

"We are going to fight a monster. Any outcome is possible."

"But you could get hurt! You could be killed! Doesn't that make you scared?"

Rei's answer was remarkably cold, even for her. "There is no need for me to fear. I am expendable. If I die in battle, I will have served my purpose. Farewell, Shinji."

After that, she climbed into her Entry Plug, and it immediately shut behind her, leaving Shinji standing there, feeling rather empty inside.

After finding out that he had slipped away and given Mari to Rei, and that he hadn't done Asuka's laundry like she had wanted him to, Asuka had been furious with Shinji. He had taken a beating from her that rivaled the ones the bullies at school gave him.

While he was at school, with Rei near him, none of the bullies or Asuka ever tried anything with Shinji, but at home, he was free game. Whenever he tried to sneak out of the apartment to visit Rei, Asuka would storm into the hallway and block his path, saying 'he shouldn't waste his time with a doll'.

"Anguirus is in sight!" Misato yelled. It had reached the outer edges of Tokyo-3, and had come to a stop, exiting its shell and surveying the area."Approach it quickly! We need to avoid battle in populated areas, so fighting it on the outskirts of the city is our best bet! Don't engage yet, just see what it does!"

"Affirmative," Rei responded, while Asuka took off running towards Anguirus, Rei close behind her. Shinji shook his head, trying to focus, and trailed behind them, in no rush to engage the monster.

Asuka pulled her Prog Knife out, ready to eviscerate Anguirus, while Rei stopped several hundred meters away from Anguirus, analyzing Anguirus before rushing in.

"Wait! Stop! We need a plan first!" Misato's warning went unheeded by Asuka, who was determined to reach Anguirus first.

A loud screeching roar emanated from Anguirus, which slammed into Asuka's Eva, knocking it flat onto the ground. Ritsuko narrowed her eyes at the footage.

"A sonic roar. Just great."

Suddenly, the ground burst open nearby Asuka's downed Eva, and a small red-brown monster with large ears crawled out. It roared and jumped on top of Asuka's Eva, and began mauling it.

"A second monster?! What the hell?!" Misato was utterly shocked, while the bridge technicians scrambled to analyze this new monster.

"Alright, uh, we'll codename it Baragon! Small, about 25 meters tall, same as Anguirus, apparently capable of burrowing….." Makoto rattled off.

"Ma'am! We just picked up a third monster on our scanners! It's approaching Tokyo-3 at over Mach-3!" Maya's voice was full of panic as she reported the news.

"She's right!" Shigeru confirmed, desperately trying to redirect helicopters to observe the third monster. Several of his monitor windows suddenly went black. "It took out some of my helicopters! I think it's airborne!"

"Misato! What should we do? We need to help Asuka!" Shinji's voice was full of worry.

Makoto looked at Misato in disbelief. "He's concerned about her? But she's been treating him like shit!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Misato shouted, completely overwhelmed.

"Never mind! This third monster has been designated as Varan! We need a plan Misato!"

Asuka struggled to free herself from Baragon, who was thrashing about, biting at her Eva. She tried to stab it with her Prog Knife, but Anguirus jumped forward and bit down on her Eva's arm, causing her to drop it in pain. Varan circled overheard, propelling itself by generating oxygen, allowing it to glide with its skin flips, much like a flying squirrel would.

Shinji and Rei's Evas stood side-by-side, watching the battle unfold, not sure how to react. "Rei, we need to do something!" Shinji said.

"I do not know what we should do," she responded.

Asuka yelled as Varan landed and joined the fray. Her Eva was being torn apart by the three monsters. While they were on the small side, they were all remarkably agile, and working together, they managed to tear the Eva's legs off, leaving Asuka to scream in pain.

Shinji couldn't take it. Asuka may have been abusive towards him, but he hated seeing anyone get hurt. For the first time, he decided to take action.

"Rei! I have an idea! If we work together, we might stand a chance against the monsters!"

After a moment of hesitation, Rei decided to listen. "OK. What are you planning?"

"We need to get their attention. Otherwise, they'll completely destroy Asuka's Eva. We'll run in and slash with our Prog Knives, then immediately retreat. Hopefully, that will get them to leave Asuka, and focus on us. We'll stand back to back and cover each other."

Shinji was terrified. He wanted nothing more than to grab the hand of Rei's Eva and run away. But he couldn't leave someone to die.

Back at Nerv, Maya noticed what Rei and Shinji were doing. "Misato, Ritsuko! The other pilots are trying something!"

Misato took notice immediately. Shinji and Rei were running straight towards the fray. "Shinji, Rei! What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm sorry! We have to try something! Maybe Rei and I can get the monsters off of Asuka!"

"No! You'll await our instructions! That's an order!"

Shinji took a deep breath as he swung his Prog Knife, slashing Baragon across its face, while Rei stabbed Varan's left shoulder, drawing a screech of pain from the monster. The two pilots retreated, while the monsters dropped Asuka's Eva and turned their attention to the new threats.

Shinji let his emotions take control, and he shouted back at Misato. "No! Together, Rei and I can do this! Give us a chance!"

Misato was taken aback. Had Shinji just…..disobeyed her?

Gendo watched the whole situation unfold carefully. This wasn't supposed to happen. How had Shinji worked up the courage to take matters into his own hands?

Rei and Shinji stood back to back while the three monsters circled the two of them. Their Prog Knives were held out, ready to slash at the monsters if they attacked.

"You OK?" Shinji asked Rei, who responded with a firm "yes." They slowly began to turn, keeping their backs together, allowing them to both view all three monsters.

Anguirus roared, its Sonic Wave blasting against Rei's Eva. She braced her Eva against Shinji's, which dug its feet into the ground. They both swayed, but neither fell over. Varan jumped into the air and flew straight at Shinji, while Baragon rushed forward, aiming at Rei's legs.

Shinji swung his knife in an arc, slashing across Varan's face, while Rei kicked Baragon's open wound from Shinji's first attack. Both monsters retreated, yelping in pain, while Anguirus jumped at the two Evas, curling into its shell and rolling straight for them.

"Jump!" Misato's voice rang out, and both Rei and Shinji immediately responded, jumping into the air in unison. Anguirus passed right underneath them, and smashed into Varan, dazing both monsters visibly. Baragon turned its attention to its fellow monsters, and ran over to them. Blood dripped down Varan's face from Rei's slash, and Baragon started licking Varan, trying to clean its face, while Anguirus shakily got to its feet and tried to do the same for Baragon, its long tongue lapping up Baragon's blood.

Shinji's eyes widened. The three monsters were trying to help each other. Wheels began spinning in his head.

_These monsters seem more intelligent than the other ones were. They're showing concern for each other. It almost reminds me of….._

He stared at the monsters as they tried to comfort each other and regroup. A voice surprised him.

"Mari." It was Rei's voice. "They look like Mari. When she licks herself clean."

Shinji softly smiled. "Yeah. They do. They're just animals. Big animals, that can cause lots of damage, but animals all the same."

Gendo looked at Fuyutsuki in confusion. "What the hell is he talking about? Who's Mari?"

Fuyutsuki had no clue. Gendo shook his head. _I'll have to monitor Shinji more closely._

Misato listened to what Rei and Shinji were saying. Maybe…..

"Shinji, Rei? New plan. We're going to try to drive the monsters away, not kill them."

"What?!" Ritsuko yelled, turning on Misato, while Ryoji doubled over laughing.

Misato turned and glared firmly at Ritsuko. "Maybe they're right. Maybe these aren't monsters, but animals. And if they're animals, then maybe they can be scared away like animals. After all, they didn't attack us."

"That's not true! They were coming right to the city!"

"And that's all. Anguirus came to Tokyo-3, and we attacked it. It wasn't until after Asuka charged at it that it roared at her. That's what triggered Baragon and Varan to attack as well."

"But, what about Godzilla? And Hedorah? And Orga in Germany?" Ritsuko weakly tried.

"Those were all much larger, and bear little resemblance to regular animals. Maybe these three here are different. They kind of look like large lizards anyway. Whatever the case, look at them. Right now, they're not attacking, they're tending to their wounds. I'm in charge of battle decisions, and as Captain, I have the final say here, not you."

Misato stared down Ritsuko, who relented after a moment. "Fine. Do it your way."

Misato turned back to the bridge technicians. "Are there any gas stations near Shinji and Rei?"

* * *

Several minutes later, Misato put her plan into action.

"Alright, throw it!"

Shinji used his Eva to chuck a large storage container of gasoline at the pile of monsters, which he had pulled out of the ground from underneath a nearby gas station. It smashed onto Anguirus's shell, where the spikes ruptured it, spilling gasoline onto all over it.

"Now Rei!"

Rei ran forward and threw the incendiary bomb at Anguirus, which exploded upon impact, lighting the gasoline. Varan and Baragon roared in fear, and retreated in their respective forms: Varan by jumping into the air and gliding, while Baragon tunneled underground. Both moved off in the direction of nearby Mt. Fuji, while Anguirus rolled into its shell and began to roll away.

Shinji's eyes widened. "Rei!"

Anguirus slammed into Rei's Eva and rolled right over it, crushing the mech beneath its weight. While it rolled off towards Mt. Fuji, Shinji broke his Eva into a sprint, running directly towards Rei's Eva.

"Shit! Now that's two destroyed Evas!" Ritsuko complained.

Misato felt anger seep through her, and she turned to Ritsuko, who looked at her nonchalantly. "What? Rei already took Asuka's destroyed Eva back here to Nerv when she came back to get the bomb, and Asuka's fine, so Rei should be as well. I don't see-"

SMACK!

Ritsuko raised her hand to her cheek where Misato had slapped her. She stared at her best friend, who's eyes were red with anger.

"Shut up. Just shut up! Who _are_ you? Do you even care about the kids we're using to pilots these things?"

Makoto, Shigeru, and Maya all stared wide-eyed as Misato stomped off, while Ryoji went after her, trying to throw his arm around her shoulders.

"Relax! All the kids are fine, you'll see-"

"Get off me!" Misato shoved Ryoji away, who turned and shrugged his shoulders at a shocked Ritsuko.

Fuyutsuki shook his head while Gendo walked off as well, rubbing his forehead in disbelief, muttering to himself.

"This isn't working, this isn't working….."

* * *

"Rei!"

Shinji grabbed onto the manual release handle of Rei's Entry Plug, which he had instructed Makoto to carefully eject into his Eva's hand so that he could set it on the ground and get Rei out.

He feared the worst, as Rei's Eva was utterly destroyed from being flattened.

He jerked his hands back as soon as he touched the hot metal. He stared at the handle for a second, gathering his resolve, before he took a deep breath and grabbed onto the handle again.

He gritted his teeth to avoid screaming from the pain as he turned the handle and pulled the hatch open. He stuck his head inside, praying that Rei was still alive.

"Rei!"

Rei opened her eyes. She was sitting in her Entry Plug, still wet and sticky from being submerged in LCL until a few seconds ago, when the Entry Plug had automatically emptied itself with external drains.

She stared up at Shinji, who's expression turned from panicked to relieved at the sight of her. He slumped forward in relief, and clutched his hands, which were seriously burned from the hot metal.

"Shinji?" Rei asked quietly, confused. Why was Shinji here?

"Rei….." Shinji tried, before tears began to roll down his cheeks. He shut his eyes, not wanting Rei to see. "Don't. Please, don't ever talk like that again. 'Farewell' and stuff like that. You made it sound like I'll never see you again. Or 'I'm expendable,' because you're not. It would kill me if you died."

Rei looked down as Shinji's shoulders began to shake with sobs. "I am…..sorry," she quietly stated. "I don't know what to say or feel. I don't know what to do. I do not understand why you are so concerned."

Shinji continued to sob.

After a moment, Rei was startled to feel something.

_Is this…..sadness? Why would I be sad? Is it because Shinji is sad? Why is Shinji sad? Why is he crying?_

_I don't know what to do. I don't know what I want. No. I want. I want….._

_I want Shinji to stop crying. It makes me sad to see him cry._

"Shinji. Please. Don't cry. Not for me. I'm not worth it."

Shinji's shoulders continued to shake. "No. Don't say that. You are worth it Rei. You're my friend. I…..care about you."

Rei felt a warmth build up in her chest. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

"I…..I don't know how to respond," she quietly responded. She felt shame at not knowing what to do.

Shinji's sobs slowly died down. He opened his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Maybe, just…..smile."

Rei's breath caught in her throat. Her shame faded away as she stared at Shinji, who gave her a warm smile.

Slowly, a small smile crossed her face.

Shinji held out his hand. Rei stared at it for a second, before hesitantly reaching out and taking it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Until next time!
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (2/11/20)


	9. Moonlight

**October 1st, 2015**

Gendo slammed his fist down on his desk in anger. "Unacceptable! Absolutely unacceptable! First, that damned Asuka destroyed Hedorah's 'orbs' or whatever the hell they were before we could analyze them, and now, Shinji managed to upstage her! She was supposed to be professional and calculated, not crazy!"

Fuyutsuki shook his head. "Honestly, sir. What did you expect? Having her witness what she did at such a young age, of course, there was going to be mental trauma. If anything, I'm surprised she can even function as a person. I know I wouldn't be if I had seen what she saw."

"I know you were never fond of what we did. But it was necessary. No matter the cost."

"Yes. I know sir."

"Anyway. Any updates on the monster trio?"

"No. All three have taken refuge inside Mt. Fuji. We can't reach them in there, and we were able to drive them off before, so I suggest we leave them be. They probably went back into hibernation. Unless we trigger the specific frequency with the ORCA that attracted them again, they'll probably leave us alone."

"Very well. And what of the expedition to Lagos Island?"

"Nothing yet. On the way to the island however, our team did investigate another island. Infant Island. We found some interesting documents hidden in a cave that was high enough to not be flooded by the Second Impact. Initial analysis places them as thousands of years old. They'll be transported back here for further inspection, and possible translation. Oh, and there were also cave paintings."

"Really. What did they depict?"

"Moths, sir. Two giant moths."

* * *

**October 7th, 2015**

Misato took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

Shinji looked up from the book he was reading. He didn't say anything, just stared at his guardian. They were seated on opposite ends of the couch in Misato's living room. Asuka was out with a bunch of classmates from school, who had taken to flocking around Asuka, hoping to get in on the prestige that she carried as an Eva pilot. Asuka's absence meant that for once, Shinji wasn't holed up in his room hiding from her.

It had been a week since the attack by Anguirus, Baragon, and Varan. Asuka had already tried to attack Shinji, but Misato had finally stepped in. Makoto had found Misato after the battle and told her about how Asuka had been routinely hitting Shinji, and the news had been eye-opening for Misato. Misato had stopped going to see Ryoji, and when she was at the apartment, Asuka didn't dare hurt Shinji.

"I'm sorry for not being there for you. For not putting a stop to Asuka treating you like dirt sooner. I got so distracted by Ryoji that I completely ignored you."

Shinji set down his book, his expression unreadable. "Why did you keep spending time with Ryoji?"

"What?"

"I just don't understand, Misato. He didn't treat you very well, and you didn't seem to be happy with him around. Why were you, um….."

"Hooking up with him?"

Shinji blushed furiously at that. "Yeah."

Misato sighed. "Honestly Shinji, I'm not sure. I guess it has a lot to do with my past. You know about Second Impact, right?"

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "I hear about it almost every day at school."

"Well, the thing is, the official story isn't exactly true. No meteorite struck Antarctica. I know since I was there."

Shinji's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

Misato humorlessly chuckled. "Yeah. I was there. I was your age at the time, fourteen. My father was the leader of a mission sponsored by Nerv to Antarctica, and I accompanied him. Your parents were involved with the mission actually, as well as Ritsuko's mother."

Shinji felt a shock wave go through him. "You knew my mother?"

"No, I just knew of her. I heard she was brilliant though, and very beautiful."

Shinji looked down. "Were my parents in Antarctica when Second Impact happened?"

"No. They were monitoring the results of our mission from back here in Japan, along with Ritsuko's mother. She was the one who designed the Evangelions, you know. But anyway. We were down there, conducting our tests. Well, my father and his team were conducting tests, I wasn't paying attention. I was mad at my father for forcing me to come along. I was kind of a problem child, and he thought that getting me away from other kids my age would help, but it just made me miserable. I hated him for it."

Shinji looked back up at Misato. _She hated her father as well?_

"One day, everything went wrong. Some sort of signaling experiment that my father was in charge of somehow resulted in a massive explosion. My father sealed me in an escape pod…..and I watched him die in the second blast. The second blast pretty much vaporized the entire continent. I was rescued a couple of weeks later, and was the only survivor of the entire expedition. The UN would later blame the disaster on a meteorite strike, calling it the 'Second Impact.' After all, Nerv is sponsored by the UN, and if the world found out that they were responsible for the disaster, it would be mass chaos."

Shinji sat quietly, digesting the information. _So everything they tell us about Second Impact in school is a lie._

Misato let out a long sigh. "The whole thing, for lack of a better term, fucked me up. I hated my father, but he ended up saving me. Over himself, in fact. There was only one functioning escape pod, and he sacrificed himself so I could live. Not only that, but I saw the explosion that destroyed a continent and wiped out half the population of the entire planet. At your age. I didn't speak for several years after the whole thing. I was kept in a mental hospital."

Misato leaned forward and put her head in her hands, trying not to break down. "I didn't know how to cope with the fact that someone I hated ended up loving me. I was only fourteen, and it was too much for me."

Shinji surprised both himself and Misato when he leaned over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She jerked back, before gently leaning back and curling her arms around him.

Shinji didn't know what to say. All he knew was that there was a lot more to Misato than he had thought.

"Thanks," Misato quietly stated.

"Yeah," Shinji replied.

After several minutes of silence, Misato continued.

"After I started talking again, it took me a couple more years to become functional again. I never ended up letting go of all the shit that happened. How could I? I turned to drinking, and Ryoji, when I went off to college. I don't remember a lot of those years. They were kind of a big blur to me. The only positive thing to come out of the whole thing was that I met Ritsuko. She became my best friend, the older sister I never had. She helped me get a bit more stable, and she helped me get my job at Nerv. Pretty funny that I ended up outranking her eventually. I don't know what's gotten into her recently. It's just all so confusing! Why is she-"

"Misato." Shinji's quiet voice silenced Misato. "Take a breath. That's what Rei tells me whenever I start going off on a rant."

Misato stared at him for a second, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Surprisingly, it did help.

"Thanks. It's just so tough sometimes. Ritsuko was my only real friend, and she's been so distant and weird ever since Godzilla attacked. And then Ryoji shows back up, and….."

"You didn't want to be alone."

Misato looked at Shinji in surprise. For a fourteen-year-old, he could be quite perceptive.

"Yeah. I didn't want to be alone. I guess I never really figured out how to connect to people in a meaningful way, so I just resorted to what I know. God. I sound pathetic, don't I."

"No more pathetic than me. At least you weren't being hit by your roommate every day."

Misato frowned in concern. "Makoto told me about that. Had that been going on ever since Asuka arrived?"

Shinji looked away in shame. "Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Shinji had to think about that for a moment, before he found the answer.

"I told myself I shouldn't bother you, and tried to justify it by thinking that you wouldn't do anything about it. That wasn't fair to you. I guess I was embarrassed that it kept happening. She kept saying things to me like how 'I'm not a real man, not like Mr. Kaji,' and it made me feel like shit."

Misato sat back and tried to formulate a response.

"Shinji, there are things about Asuka you don't know. I'm not trying to justify what she did, but she's been through a lot. This sort of behavior is how she deals with things. Kind of like how I….."

"Yeah. You don't need to tell me again. But Asuka has stopped hitting me ever since you talked to her. I think that helped her cool off. She still doesn't like me, but I can live with that."

Shinji stood up and stretched. "Hey, thanks," he said. "I appreciate it."

"Of course. Remember, she's just a kid, just like you and Rei. Besides, maybe Ryoji isn't exactly a good model for 'what a man should be' after all."

Shinji snorted. "You got that right."

A thought crossed Misato's mind, and a cheeky grin spread across her face.

"So. You and Rei, huh?"

Shinji blushed. "We're just friends Misato, that's it."

"Uh-huh."

"Really!"

"Yeah, sure."

* * *

**October 8th, 2015**

Makoto stood nervously in one of the many side-hallways of Nerv. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Makoto. I need you to do me a favor," Misato quietly asked him.

"Anything," he quickly replied. _Ah, crap. Don't sound so eager._

"You're a technician, so you spend a lot of time near Ritsuko. You probably noticed that she's been, well, um….."

"Kind of a bitch lately?" Makoto's voice dripped with sardonicism.

Misato chuckled. "Yeah, exactly. I believe there's stuff going on that we don't know about. I'm too conspicuous, as a ranking military officer for Nerv, so I don't think I'd get away with snooping around. You, however, I believe could."

The prospect of sneaking around behind Gendo and Ritsuko's backs was not a very pleasant one for Makoto, but the opportunity to do something for Misato overrode his caution.

"Yeah, I think I could. I've overheard some stuff, and it sounds like there's some sort of 'plan' they have going on. I'm not sure, but I think that Gendo might somehow be involved with the monster attacks. After all, he didn't seem thrilled when Shinji and Rei drove off the monsters last week, despite it being a clear victory. I mean, the damage to the Evas wasn't honestly that bad. Rei's got banged up pretty good by Anguirus, and Asuka's got torn apart, but nothing vital to the operation of the mechs were damaged, and they're already fully repaired."

"About that. How have they been repaired so quickly? It's only been a week since that battle."

"Honestly, I have no idea. Neither do Maya or Shigeru. We aren't involved with the actual physical functions of the Evas, we just monitor and operate their on-board computer systems. I've tried asking some of the mechanics, but they each said that they weren't involved with any of the repairs. It's almost like the Evas fixed themselves somehow. I'll make sure to look into that as well."

"Thanks, Makoto. I appreciate it."

"Yeah, no problem. Also, there is one other thing I think you should know, but you can't tell anyone I told you." Makoto was nervous about revealing Gendo and Ritsuko's 'relationship' to Misato, but since she seemed to be taking a more active interest in what was going on behind the scenes at Nerv, he figured it was about time she knew.

"Ritsuko and Gendo have been hooking up for at least two years."

"Wait, what?"

* * *

Asuka slammed her fist into her bedroom wall. _That stupid Shinji! Can't he fight his own battles? What a loser!_

She hadn't been able to make any moves against Shinji since the battle with Anguirus, Baragon, and Varan. Rei was always near him at school, and Misato now making an effort to be home before them, working with a laptop on the couch in the living room. But according to her (many) friends, there was a massive car crash near Nerv, and Misato was most likely stuck in traffic. So, after school let out, Asuka raced home, hoping to beat Shinji there. While he often went and did his homework with Rei, he always stopped by Misato's apartment by himself first to leave the books he didn't need. That was when Asuka planned to take her revenge.

She heard the sound of the front door opening. A grin spread across her face, and after a few moments of listening to Shinji's footsteps, she jumped out into the hallway and tackled him.

"You _stupid_ Shinji!" She slapped him across the face. "Fight your own battles for a change!"

Asuka was suddenly lifted off her feet and thrown against the wall. She turned and groaned at the unexpected sight of Rei, who had an uncharacteristically harsh expression on her face.

_Why did she have to pick today of all days to come into the apartment with him?_

"Don't touch Shinji," Rei growled out.

"What are you doing here? You know I don't like it when you come into _my_ apartment!"

"This is not your apartment. It is Misato's. And you will not hurt Shinji."

Shinji tried to step in between the two girls, hoping to prevent a fight. Given Rei's skills, and Asuka's ferocity, he doubted a fight between them would end well.

"It's OK, it's OK, Rei and I were just going, we don't want any trouble Asuka-"

She reached out and slapped him to the side, and lunged for Rei, who quickly side-stepped Asuka and stuck out her foot, tripping Asuka to the ground. Rei slammed her foot down on Asuka's back, pinning her to the ground, and leaned over. She whispered directly into Asuka's ear.

"If you touch him again, I'll kill you."

She released Asuka and grabbed Shinji's hand, ignoring his protests, and led him out of the apartment. Asuka yelled at their retreating backs.

"Yeah, that's right! Look at you, running away again! Stupid Shinji always needs to be saved by his little doll! I bet she lets you fuck her since she's so brain dead!"

Rei froze in her tracks, while Shinji whirled around, raw anger filling his mind.

"Shut up! Just _shut up_ you stupid bitch!" Shinji ran forward and grabbed a handful of Asuka's hair, yanking her head to the side. She grinned into Shinji's enraged face.

"Oh, so you _do_ have balls after all! Well hello to the _real_ Shinji! About time you introduced yourself!" She reached up and yanked his head down, pressing her lips to his in a harsh kiss. After a moment of shocked silence, Shinji pulled himself free from Asuka's grasp and stumbled backward, falling to the ground.

Asuka grinned as she got to her feet, her former sense of power returning as she towered over Shinji.

"You're so predictable! You get all mad, but one little kiss and you completely freeze up! Oh, wait a minute, don't tell me that was your first kiss, that would be hilarious!"

Shinji felt a rush of emotions flow through him, foremost being shame and embarrassment. He scrambled to his feet and ran, grabbing a still frozen Rei's hand and running out of the apartment, with Asuka's laughter echoing in his ears.

After Rei and Shinji left, Asuka slowly stopped laughing. She stood for several minutes, not moving.

Finally, she collapsed onto the ground and began sobbing.

_What have I done?_

* * *

Shinji and Rei entered her apartment together, neither saying a word. They went and sat together on her couch, while Mari worriedly jumped up to join them. Normally, Shinji would be showering the young cat with attention, but today, he didn't seem to be reacting to anything. Rei was always rather unresponsive, but now she seemed to be completely missing from her body.

The three of them sat in silence for several minutes, before it was broken by the sounds of Shinji's sobs. It shook Rei out of her stupor, and she turned to stare at her friend. She felt sadness overwhelm her at the sight of him crying.

What Asuka had said had struck deep within the quiet girl's soul, but what she had done had shaken Shinji to his very core.

Rei gingerly reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. She was shocked when he suddenly threw his arms around her and began sobbing even harder, burying his face in her shoulder. She slowly raised her arms and wrapped them around her friend. It was a strange feeling, to touch someone like this.

What surprised her most was how warm it was.

* * *

Several hours later, and night had fallen. Misato had already gotten home, and had come and banged on Rei's door, demanding to be let in, apparently having discovered Asuka in a distraught state. Rei never moved from her spot on the couch. Shinji had since curled up next to her, and had fallen asleep, his head leaning on her shoulder. Mari lay snuggled in Shinji's lap, fast asleep.

This was by far the longest amount of time Rei had been in physical contact with another person, and she found that the longer she remained next to Shinji, the more she felt things stirring in her chest.

_What is happening to me? What is this? Is this what it feels like to care about someone? To want to protect them at all costs? Shinji would do anything for me. I know what for certain._

_Why did Asuka kiss him? Why would she do something like that? It has upset him greatly, but I'm not certain as to why._

_I do know that what she said hurt me._

_Why did it hurt me?_

_Why?_

_Is it because I'm not actually a person?_

_Because I exist to be a vessel, nothing more?_

_Part of a series of orphaned girls who were altered to look like someone else?_

_Why does it hurt so much?_

_Why do I feel so much?_

_Please, make it stop!_

_Please!_

_Please!_

* * *

Shinji slowly woke up. He frowned in confusion as he realized he wasn't in his room.

_Where am I?_

Details started to flood his mind. He was in Rei's apartment. On her couch. Mari was asleep on his lap. His head was resting on Rei's shoulder. And night had fallen.

Rei was quietly crying.

_Rei._

He slowly raised his hand to Rei's face and gently caressed her cheek.

_She's crying. But why?_

"Rei? Are you OK?"

She didn't respond.

"Rei?" Shinji lifted his head off her shoulder, trying to get a better look at her. She flinched at the sudden absence of physical contact. Shinji froze, and gently laid his head back down. Rei's sobs slowly quieted, but her breathing remained quick and short. She was holding in her sobs now.

"Rei," Shinji said again. "It's OK. You don't need to hide. I'm here."

Rei looked at Shinji with a confused expression. She got up without a word and walked over to the window, staring out at the moon. Shinji stared at her back in sorrow.

_I ruined it. I didn't say the right thing. I'm such a screw-up. Misato's wrong about me. I am worthless._

"I'm sorry," he quietly stated. "You shouldn't have to deal with me. I'll just go-"

"No!"

Shinji jumped in surprise. Mari looked up as well at the sound of Rei's raised voice.

She turned and looked at Shinji. Her eyes her puffy from crying, creating a strange looking effect when paired with their red color.

"You don't have to leave. Please…..don't leave." Rei's voice contained a hint of pleading in it.

Shinji looked down in shame.

_How could I try to leave? I tried to run away again. I can't. I mustn't run away. She needs me. And I need her. We were both hurt earlier. The worst thing I could do is abandon her._

"I'm sorry, Rei. I shouldn't have said that."

Rei's expression softened. "No. I apologize. You were just trying to reassure me. To let me know that I can…..show emotion. I've spent years being told to conceal my emotions. It scares me to reveal myself in such a way."

Shinji slowly stood up, allowing time for Mari to jump off his lap. He walked over and stood next to Rei. They turned and stared out the window together at the moon.

Shinji shook his head. "I have no idea what to do or say in situations like this."

"That is OK. We are both highly flawed."

Shinji couldn't hold back a chuckle at that. "Yeah, look at us. Two fourteen-year-old kids with no idea how to deal with life and emotions, and we're the ones that are piloting 50-meter tall robots, trying to protect the world from monsters."

"We are not the ideal choices," Rei stated.

Staring at the moon, an idea came to Shinji. He pulled his SDAT Player and his earbuds out of his pocket. He plugged in the earbuds and handed one to Rei.

"I want to show you something. You just stick this in your ear, and when I press a button here, music will play."

Rei cautiously put the earbud in her ear. Shinji pressed the forward button several times. There were 26 songs on this particular tape. From what he understood, it was one that his mother had made for his father when they had gotten married. Staring at the moon, he knew exactly which song to play.

Debussy's Claire de Lune.

The piano notes began to play in his ear, and Shinji found himself lost in the notes of the song that he had listened to hundreds of times before. He turned his head and stared at Rei. Her face took on an odd expression. One could describe it as being wistful.

He felt her hand brush against the back of his. He hesitated, before reaching out and taking her hand in his. For Shinji, it was a moment unlike any other in his life.

As he stood there, listening to the plaintive yet hopeful piano notes, watching the moon, with his hand in the grasp of a girl who (to him) was an angel, he felt more warmth than he had in years. Not since his mother was alive had he felt this way.

It was then that he realized something.

_I'm in love with Rei._

The two children watched the moon for over an hour, listening to the song on repeat, while Mari quietly slept in a beam of moonlight on the floor behind them. They both felt at peace with each other, oblivious to what was about to happen.

How miles away, back at Nerv, Gendo ordered Fuyutsuki to turn on the ORCA to the very first frequency they had ever used, all those months before. How he grinned in triumph, knowing that tomorrow would bring about events that would change the lives of everyone on the face of the planet.

Neither Rei nor Shinji knew this. They simply enjoyed this quiet, innocent moment together.

Before what would come tomorrow.

Before hell would come to Tokyo-3.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are only three chapters left now, and they will all be happening chronologically one after the other. We're in the endgame now.
> 
> I hope this chapter worked well, as there was a lot of backstory revealed, along with a lot of emotional scenes and discussions.
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (2/18/20)


	10. Godzilla Returns

**October 9th, 2015**

Deep in the Japan Trench, Godzilla slept fitfully. It had been slowly morphing in the three months since it made landfall in Tokyo-3, trying to find the elusive source of the 'call' that had awoken it.

Exhausted and battered from the battle, it was content to lay at the bottom of the sea forever. For three months, that's exactly what it did.

Until the 'call' came again.

Godzilla opened its eyes. A groan emanated from deep within its massive body. It slowly began to move, stretching its legs and flexing its tail. After a few minutes, it began the ascent to the surface. From there, it would head straight for Tokyo-3.

It did not know why it was compelled to do such a thing. All it knew was that something was calling it, a call that could not be ignored.

Godzilla was coming for Tokyo-3.

* * *

Makoto, Maya, and Shigeru were all pouring over the incoming data, scrambling to figure out everything they could about this 'new' Godzilla. For all intents and purposes, it was a completely new monster.

"I can't believe this. It seems to be the same creature, but its appearance is radically different!" Shigeru shook his head in amazement.

Maya, on the other hand, was horrified. "It's a hundred meters tall now, double its previous height, and far larger than any other monster we've faced!"

Makoto rubbed his forehead, a headache already coming on. "It evolved in the middle of its battle with Shinji, so it's not outside the realm of possibility that it evolved some more."

Shigeru scoffed. "Really. You call _that_ evolving? Look at the thing! It's freaking tail is as tall as the rest of its body now! It's giving off massive amounts of radiation, enough that if it doesn't halt its advance soon, Tokyo-3 will be uninhabitable! This isn't evolution. This is some black magic shit!"

Maya looked at Shigeru nervously. "Honestly? I don't think we can fight this thing."

"Nonsense!" The three technicians turned around, only to be met with the harsh glare of Gendo Ikari, who was flanked by Ritsuko, Fuyutsuki, and Ryoji. "Misato's already prepping the pilots for battle. Apparently, there was some 'drama' that went down last night that she's trying to sort out. In a few minutes, we'll have the Evas ready for battle."

Makoto's eyes widened in shock. "Sir, you don't seriously mean to send out those kids to fight this thing. It's on a completely new scale in terms of size alone, and who knows what it's capable of in battle. I cannot caution you strongly enough that we do _not_ engage Godzilla."

"I'm with him on this," Shigeru spoke up. "Any attempt to fight it will probably result in the destruction of all three Evas, and the deaths of all the pilots. Looking at it, I just don't see a way we can win."

"I agree," Maya interjected. "We should focus on evacuating Tokyo-3, and thinking of ways to contain it. Maybe we can somehow trap it inside the city-"

"No," Gendo coldly cut it. "Listen to yourselves. You're all pathetic. Don't you have any faith in the Evangelions? We've won every battle so far, so there's no reason we won't win today."

Ritsuko stepped forward. "We're going to fight Godzilla. I suggest you three get with the program and start cooperating. For your sake."

The three technicians deflated and went back to their work. They all had concerns, but they weren't dumb enough to directly go against Gendo.

* * *

Misato stood in front of the three pilots, who were all dressed in their Plug Suits, about to enter battle. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. If the three of them were to be successful, they'd have to put aside their differences for the time being.

As Misato stood there gathering her thoughts, Shinji allowed his own to wander through his memories. The night before, Shinji had never gone back to Misato's apartment. He had chosen to lie down on Rei's couch, stretched out, with Mari curled up at his feet. He had slept well, until about 3 in the morning, when he had snapped awake from a terrible dream. He couldn't remember what it was about, but only that Tokyo-3 had been on fire. He was startled when seconds later, Rei came out of her bedroom.

"What is it," he had asked.

Rei hadn't said anything, only silently walking over to Shinji. He sat up, and she sat down next to him, throwing her arms around his neck and laying her head on his shoulder.

Shinji had sat quietly for several minutes, stunned by her boldness, before finally working up the courage to speak. "Is everything OK," he had asked, wondering what could have caused the reclusive girl to be so clingy all of a sudden.

Rei hadn't responded immediately, but when she did, what she said scared Shinji. "Something terrible is going to happen today." Her face was grim, and she clung tightly to him, almost as if she were afraid she would be torn away from him.

Shinji hadn't known how to respond to that, so he didn't. He just put his arms around Rei and held her, hoping that it was just a coincidence that they had both awoken from bad dreams at the same time.

When he had woken up again, he was lying down on the couch, and Rei was curled up next to him, her head resting on his chest. He had closed his eyes and soaked in the moment, the closeness of it, for several blissful minutes before Misato had come banging on the front door, screaming about Godzilla returning.

Shinji snapped out of his memories when Misato started talking. "Alright, guys. So Asuka told me that yesterday evening before I got home, some words were said between you two and her. Would you care to elaborate? And please keep it snappy, we're on a time crunch."

Shinji sighed and decided to speak up. "We…..just had an argument. About dinner. I didn't want to make it, and Asuka got upset about that, and then Rei stepped in, and-"

"Bullshit!" Asuka snapped, annoyance filling her face. "Even now, you're still refusing to be a man. Well fine. I'll tell her exactly what happened."

Misato stepped forward, her face contorting in anger. "That's it. I'm tired of you-"

"It was all my fault, Misato. I was upset that I couldn't take out my anger on Shinji, and I ambushed him. Rei fought me, but she was only protecting Shinji. He may be a spineless idiot, and I may hate his guts, but I shouldn't have attacked him. I am sorry for that, and for all the things I said about both of them."

Misato blinked at Asuka's sudden candidness.

"Please, let us go fight. We'll work this out afterward," Asuka asked, sounding genuinely contrite. "We don't have time for this."

Misato didn't know how to respond, but she figured that now wasn't the time to dwell on such things. Asuka did have a point. "Well, um, I'm glad you recognize that. But let me tell you this. If this ever happens again, I will have you kicked from active duty immediately, you understand me?"

"Yes, ma'am," Asuka responded.

"Alright. Get to your Evas. We have a monster to kill." Misato spun on her heel and walked off, leaving the children standing there.

"Shinji," Asuka quietly said. Rei grabbed Shinji's wrist and pulled him to the side, placing herself in front of him, ready to fight if Asuka attacked.

Asuka sighed, and her contrite expression instantly dropped off her face, being replaced with her usual sneer. "I won't apologize again, because I'm not sorry. But that thing out there scares the shit out of me, and as much as I hate to admit it, the three of us will need to work together to beat it. So for now, let's call a truce, shall we?"

Shinji couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Really. Just like that." He didn't sound convinced at all. "Why should we believe you? You were cruel and spiteful yesterday, and said things for the sole purpose of hurting us as much as possible. You seem to get off to being a bitch, so why the hell should we believe you?"

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Fine. I had a weird dream last night, OK? Godzilla attacked the city, and it looked all weird, with red and black skin. I thought it was just a weird dream, until Misato showed us new footage of Godzilla, and it looks exactly like it did in my dream. I don't know what that means, but I'm not taking any chances. Are you happy now?"

Shinji gently moved Rei to the side so he could face Asuka, thoughts tumbling through his mind. He didn't like Asuka, but this couldn't be good news. "OK. We'll work together for today. Both Rei and I had weird dreams as well. I don't know what's going to happen, but you're right. We stand a better chance of not dying if we cooperate. Do you agree, Rei?"

Rei's harsh expression didn't soften, but she slowly nodded.

Asuka smirked. "Hmm. I'll see you in battle, losers." She walked proudly past Rei and Shinji with her head held high, leaving the two behind to sort through their confusion.

"I don't understand her at all. God, she drives me mad!" Shinji walked back and forth in front of Rei, more confused than ever.

_Why did Asuka kiss me last night? It doesn't make any sense. She hates me! It was probably just to mess with me. Yeah, that's it. I mean, why would she want to kiss me? I'm...I'm me. Weak, spineless, stupid Shinji. I bet Rei wouldn't want to kiss me._

Shinji slowed to a halt as the stress of the impending battle continued to torment him.

_She'd never want to be with someone like me. Who am I kidding? Even if we both survive today..._

Shinji slumped to the ground against the wall as it hit him.

_We won't survive. We're going to die. Asuka having a bad dream and somehow seeing Godzilla in it exactly as he appears now without anybody having ever seen it in this new form proves it. Something terrible is going to happen today. I just know it. I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this._

Rei stared at Shinji for several seconds before sitting down next to him. She hesitantly raised her hand and placed it on his shoulder. Shinji flinched at the sudden contact before turning to Rei and wrapping his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder. Rei couldn't help but remember how she had done something similar earlier that day, when she had woken up from her bad dream.

"A part of me has always wondered what happens to us after we die," Shinji quietly said. Rei didn't say anything, letting him speak. "Probably because I never knew my mother. I don't even know what she looks like, since my father had all pictures of her destroyed. I guess I hope that's she up there somewhere, watching over me. It helps me feel a little less lonely sometimes. That if I died, even though nobody would miss me, I'd get to see her again."

Shinji took a deep breath, comforted by Rei's arms around him. _I need to calm down. Rei doesn't think I'm worthless. She's my friend. If she thinks I'm an OK person, how bad could I be?_

"But now, I know that's not the case," Shinji continued. "I do have people that care about me. Misato teases me, but she tries her best to take care of me. And there's Mari as well. She doesn't care what other people think, she just cares that I care about her. In return, she seems to care about me."

Rei looked down, while internally, her long-contained emotions threatened to reveal themselves. She thought back to the previous attack, where Shinji had sobbed in relief that she was alive, and said that he cared about her. She remembered his outstretched hand, and how she reached out and took it. How kind his eyes had been.

"I care about you as well, Shinji."

Shinji pulled back from Rei, who looked at him. Their eyes met, and there on the hallway floor, dressed in their ridiculous Plug Suits, he found himself speechless as he stared into Rei's red eyes.

_She's so beautiful….._

A loud voice crackled in the air. "Eva pilots report immediately. Eva pilots report immediately."

Rei reluctantly got to her feet and looked back down at Shinj, who hesitated.

"Shinji," she quietly said. He looked up at her, and found her hand stretched out, waiting for him to take it. After a moment, he took a deep breath and took it. She pulled him to his feet, and the two teens stared at each other. Rei didn't let go of Shinji's hand.

"It's going to be OK," Rei calmly said.

_It's going to be OK._

"Thank you, Rei."

* * *

"Launch Evas!"

As all three Evas shot up to the surface, Ritsuko came to stand by Misato. "Well, this should be an interesting fight," Ritsuko remarked casually, unperturbed by the immense danger the three pilots were in. Misato shot her a glance, refusing to say anything. She was still in shock that Ritsuko had been hooking up with Gendo for at least two years, and she figured now wasn't the best time to broach the subject with Risuko.

As soon as the three Evas reached the surface, Godzilla spotted them. It stopped moving and narrowed its squinted eyes. One of those things had hurt it badly the last time it had come ashore. This time, Godzilla knew what to expect.

Fortunately for Godzilla, it was smart enough to instinctively know what new powers it had developed in the past three months.

"Alright! Eva pilots, fan out and keep moving," Misato commanded. "Don't get too close to each other, so it won't be able to target more than one of you at once."

Rei immediately took off running, followed by Shinji and Asuka. They situated themselves in a triangle formation around Godzilla, about five-hundred meters away from each other.

"All three of you, charge at Godzilla and strike with your Prog Knives. It won't be able to defend itself from all three of at once. After striking, immediately retreat. We don't know if the knives will still be as effective as Shinji's was against Godzilla the first time. Go. Now!"

All three Evas jumped forward, Prog Knives drawn, ready to tear into Godzilla.

Godzilla could see two of the mechs with its eyes, and due to its newly developed extra-sensory perception, it could detect movement outside of its field of vision.

If Godzilla could smirk, it would have.

Right as the three Evas were about to slash into Godzilla, it suddenly swung its massive tail in a wide arc around its body, pivoting off its right leg. It hit Rei's Eva first, knocking it to the ground, before connecting with Shinji's Eva, sending it careening into Asuka's Eva. To Shinji, it felt like the breath was knocked out of him as his Eva collided with Asuka's, sending them both sprawling to the ground.

Godzilla kept moving, stepping forward with its right leg to bring its left foot smashing down on Rei's Eva, who quickly rolled to the side and barely avoided being crushed underneath Godzilla's massive weight.

"Shit! Retreat, retreat!" Misato yelled, while Ritsuko shot Gendo a glance.

"Get this idiot off of me!" Asuka yelled. She shoved Shinji's Eva off of her own and retreated, not about to mess up again in battle. Shinji clambered to his feet as gasped as he turned, seeing Godzilla bearing down on him with its jaws wide open, ready to bite into his Eva.

Rei came running in from the side and slammed into Godzilla's head, causing it to miss Shinji. He quickly spun around and swung his Prog Knife across Godzilla's passing neck, cutting right through the black and red scarred skin. Rei held onto Godzilla's head and continued to push, shoving it through buildings while Asuka ran in and jumped onto Godzilla's back, slicing off one of its dorsal plates and eliciting a roar of pain from the monster as the plate fell to the ground. Shinji and Asuka both jumped out of the way as Godzilla began thrashing, trying to throw Rei off.

Rei pushed off its head and jumped backwards into the air, landing her Eva gracefully on its feet next to Shinji and Asuka. She felt anger course through her as she readied her Knife, furious at the creature for trying to attack Shinji.

"You will not hurt him," she growled. "Asuka, Shinji, go for its legs. I'm going for its face."

"For once I agree with you!" Asuka whooped, charging forward, while Shinji rolled to the side and around Godzilla. Rei leaped into the air and brought her Knife plunging down into Godzilla's right eye while Shinji and Asuka each slashed across Godzilla's massive thighs. Rei yanked her Knife free and somersaulted backward, regrouping with Shinji and Asuka as Godzilla roared in pain at the multiple wounds that had been inflicted upon it. It stumbled forward onto its knees as its legs gave out due to the slash wounds across both of them.

"Is that it? Did we win?" Asuka said, hope filling her voice.

Godzilla raised its head and looked directly at the three Evas. Shinji shuddered at the sight of its soulless eyes. The giant monster raised its head skyward and let out a bellow that echoed through the city. It slowly began to get to its feet, and then Shinji gasped as he saw what was happening.

Godzilla wasn't about to be beaten so easily. It knew the whole time that it had new powers, and had intentionally not used one of its most powerful ones. Until now.

To everyone's shock, Godzilla began to regenerate in front of their eyes. All of its wounds quickly disappeared, leaving the monster standing tall with a fierce look in its eyes.

"Ah shit," mumbled Shinji. "We're fucked."

Meanwhile, Gendo looked on and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two chapters left! I can't believe we're almost to the end! I'm planning on uploading both of the final two chapters at the same time next week, and then the week after that I'll upload the first chapter of "Evangelion X Godzilla 2: _"(I'm not revealing the title yet lol).
> 
> I also went back and added date markers throughout the entire story to help keep the timeline straight. For a quick recap, Godzilla first attacked on July 9th, Asuka battled Orga on August 12th, Shinji became friends with Rei on September 8th, the Hedorah battle was on September 17th, the battle with Anguirus, Baragon, and Varan was on September 30th, and the events of these final three chapters all take place on October 9th.
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (2/25/20)


	11. The Fury of Godzilla

**October 9th, 2015**

Godzilla's back began to glow with a bright purple color, and it hunched over as if it was in pain. Its jaw unhinged and began to belch out black smoke which spread through the streets of Tokyo-3.

"Oh my god. What is it doing?" Maya stared in disbelief at the readings. "Radiation levels are spiking!"

"How is that even possible?" Shigeru wondered aloud.

"I don't know, but we need to be prepared for anything," Makoto said, turning to face Misato. "We need a plan, now. Or this might be the end of Tokyo-3."

The smoke being vomited out of Godzilla slowly morphed into rolling fire, which began to eat away at the buildings of the city while the Evas clambered atop several of the taller ones to avoid the fire.

"What are we supposed to do now?!" Shinji cried out.

"I don't know!" Misato yelled, the stress overwhelming her.

Rei suddenly spoke up. "Misato, perhaps we should try what Asuka did in Munich. She faced a regenerative monster there, and was able to defeat it by attacking it from the inside. Maybe we could use an N² bomb like the one that was used to destroy Hedorah. I could stick it down Godzilla's throat, and after getting to a safe distance, the bomb could be detonated."

Shinji smiled, despite how dangerous the plan sounded. _Rei never would have spoken up like that several weeks ago._

"That sounds like the best plan we've got, so we'll use it. Rei, get back here to Nerv. We'll have an N² bomb ready for you to pick up. Shinji, Asuka, you guys see if you can distract Godzilla. Get it to stop puking up fire if you can."

"Yes, ma'am!" Asuka cheered, before jumping from building to building, making her way over to Godzilla. Shinji sighed and took off after her, while Rei ran back to Nerv.

"Asuka, keep moving at all times. Godzilla's so large that so long as it doesn't see you coming, it shouldn't be able to react very quickly," Misato said. "Gotcha," Asuka replied, focused on not falling off the buildings into the fire below. "And Shinji, see if you can grab Godzilla's tail. When Rei gets there, try yanking on it to force Godzilla to raise his head up so she can stuff that bomb down its throat.

"I'll try," Shinji replied, while Asuka circled around to get behind Godzilla. Meanwhile, Rei grabbed the bomb from Nerv and began making her way back to the others.

Asuka jumped onto Godzilla's back and began slashing away at its dorsal plates, sending them tumbling to the ground below. Godzilla roared in pain, but didn't stop belching out fire. Instead, it tried swaying from side to side, hoping that the Eva would fall off and be consumed in the flames below.

Shinji reached the closest building to Godzilla and took a deep breath. He reached out and grabbed Godzilla's tail, ready to pull on it to allow Rei access to Godzilla's mouth.

Rei arrived at the scene to find the strange sight of Asuka's Eva flailing around on Godzilla's back, slashing back and forth at dorsal plates that kept regenerating around her, while Shinji's Eva held on to the end of Godzilla's tail. She narrowed her eyes and hoisted the bomb.

"Shinji, now!" Rei firmly said.

Shinji yanked as hard as he could, and Godzilla's head was forced upwards. It immediately stopped belching fire, and Rei jumped at its head with the bomb held in her Eva's grip, ready to thrust it down Godzilla's throat.

Just as the bomb entered Godzilla's mouth, its jaws clamped shut, piercing through the biceps of the Eva's arms. Rei screamed at the sudden sensation of what felt like jagged swords being driven through her arms. "Rei!" Shinji yelled. Rei struggled, but she was trapped with her Eva's arms inside of Godzilla's mouth, giving her a close-up view of its rotting teeth while her Eva's legs scrambled at Godzilla's chest.

Godzilla had the three mechs exactly where it wanted them.

Purple beams burst out of its back, slicing straight through Asuka's Eva and launching it into the air, while its tail suddenly snapped out of Shinji's grasp. A single beam burst out the tend of the tail, which swung around past Shinji's Eva. The beam sliced his Eva's legs off, and its torso fell on top of the building he had been standing on.

Misato could barely believe her eyes when the purple glow that had been emanating out of Godzilla's back spread to its mouth.

"No….."

Godzilla's mouth sprang open to reveal a final purple beam that spat through the bomb, destroying it in an instant, and hit the head of Rei's Eva dead center, obliterating it. The headless Eva slipped off of Godzilla's sternum and fell onto the ground below, becoming enveloped by the flames that remained from Godzilla's previous breath attack.

"No!" Misato screamed. "Makoto, what are their life readings?!"

Makoto stared in shock. Through the speakers, Asuka's screams could be heard, as her decimated Eva had landed in the flames behind Godzilla, while Shinji's speakers remained silent, the young boy's body in total shock from what felt like the sudden removal of his legs.

Rei's life readings, however, were completely gone.

While Shinji and Asuka were both in immense pain, neither was actually physically injured. But to have the sensation of one's head suddenly vanish from your body…..

Makoto felt his stomach drop. Theoretically, Rei's body now felt it had no connection to her brain.

"I…..I think Rei….."

Shigeru gasped, while Maya put her head in her hands.

Out in the city, Godzilla roared in triumph. It had defeated the three mechs. And now, it would exact vengeance for waking it from its sleep.

It opened its mouth and the purple beam resumed firing. Godzilla swung its head back and forth, sending the beam hurtling across the city, slicing through buildings and spreading devastation wherever it touched.

* * *

Out in his Eva, Shinji slowly came to his senses. All he felt was resounding pain, and the feeling of something missing.

_What's missing…_

_My legs! Where are my legs?!_

Inside the Entry Plug, Shinji grabbed onto his legs.

_I still have my legs. It just feels like they're gone._

_What happened….._

_Rei._

_Rei!_

"Rei!" Shinji suddenly screamed. "Rei! Where's Rei?!" The last thing Shinji remembered was Rei being trapped with her arms pinned inside Godzilla's mouth, her Eva's head dangerously close to its massive teeth.

"What happened?! Is Rei alright?" Shinji's voice was filled with desperation as he tried to sit his Eva up, but found it rather difficult without legs. He managed to prop the Eva's torso up with its arms splayed out behind it.

Shinji gasped at the sight.

Tokyo-3 was in flames. Godzilla had moved away by now, but was still within the city. It was shooting its purple beam out of its mouth, using it to slice through the bases of buildings and then watching as they came tumbling down. It was like hell on Earth.

The speaker inside his Entry Plug suddenly crackled. "Shinji, are you awake?"

"Yes! Is Rei OK?"

There was no answer.

"Misato! Is Rei OK?"

More silence followed.

"Misato?"

After a moment, Misato's broken voice trickled through. "I'm sorry Shinji. We aren't sure, but….."

Shinji felt his blood run cold. "What do you mean?"

After another moment, Ritsuko spoke. "At this moment, we are declaring Rei Ayanami as deceased."

Shinji stopped listening.

_No._

_No._

_No._

He curled up inside his Entry Plug, his arms wrapped around his legs, which he still couldn't feel. He began to rock back and forth.

_No. This can't be happening. This can't be happening._

_No._

_No._

_No!_

_Rei! I can't lose you!_

_Not you too!_

_No!_

_No!_

_NO!_

Shinji began screaming, a long, unbroken scream that was filled with anguish.

* * *

Misato collapsed to the ground on the bridge. "I've failed. I failed completely. I was supposed to protect those kids. Damn it. Damn it all."

Maya was crying in Shigeru's arms while Ristuko stood next to Gendo and Ryoji, who were all silently watching the events unfold.

Makoto stared at Ritsuko. "You know this would happen. Didn't you. You sent those kids into battle knowing that this would be the result."

"Well of course," Ritsuko said, her voice taking on a hard edge. "We're not stupid. Did you honestly think we weren't aware of the dangers? Of sending teenagers out in giant mechs to fight monsters? Of course, something like this would eventually happen! That didn't mean we shouldn't have done it. Only those born after the Second Impact could successfully sync with the Evas anyway. Besides, our plan is still on track."

Misato stiffened. She slowly got to her feet and turned to face Ritsuko. "What do you mean, 'our plan?'

Ritsuko rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you're such an idiot sometimes. Did you never stop to question what the Evas were? How they're able to function? They're not machines. Of course not, our technology is not even close to being able to achieve something like that. So instead, they're organic."

Makoto froze while Maya and Shigeru suddenly looked up in shock. "Wait, organic? That's not possible….." Maya shakily said.

"It's very possible," Ryoji said, stepping forward. "We took thousands of humans and used their bodies to construct giant monsters. The metal coverings are just that, coverings. Armor to contain the monster within. This was all designed years ago, of course. Mainly, it was our dear Ristuko's mother's work that accomplished all of this, of course. She was brilliant….."

Misato swung her fist and punched Ritsuko in the face, who staggered from the blow. She rubbed her jaw and looked at Misato with contempt. "It's too late now. We were able to build monsters out of humans, but in order for the Evas to live, we had to make sacrifices."

Makoto slowly started piecing the puzzle together. "You didn't….."

Gendo came forward. "Yes, we did. It was the hardest choice of my life, letting my wife go…..but she insisted that it would be necessary to save the world."

Misato scoffed. "Save the world from what, these monsters? How the hell did you know they would be coming?"

"It's rather ironic that you don't know. After all, it was your father who brought this upon us," Gendo said sardonically, ignoring Misato's question.

Misato's eyes widened. "What," she weakly said.

"In Antarctica, 15 years ago, your father was investigating something. We believe he triggered a 'beacon' if you will. An organic one. That was what caused the explosion that vaporized Antarctica. The explosion echoed through the galaxy, at least according to our readings. Most likely, someone, or something, that resides far away from here sent these living beacons soaring through the galaxy, landing on various planets, where they would remain dormant until disturbed. The disturbance would cause a release of energy so vast that wherever its creator was, it would detect the disturbance, and know that particular planet held intelligent life."

"We believe that this being, whoever or whatever it is, travels through the galaxy exterminating intelligent civilizations," Ryoji sneered at Misato. "It's only a matter of time before it arrives to destroy our planet."

Gendo's voice took on a commanding tone as he finished. "Yui Ikari sacrificed herself to give life to Eva-01. She resides somewhere in it to this day, her consciousness preserved. Trapped. Now, she is about to be freed by Shinji's rage. She will kill Godzilla, and defend Earth from the extra-terrestrial threat which seeks to destroy us!"

Misato shook her head in disbelief. "Damn you. Damn you all to hell, which is what you've surely unleashed."

"Oh please," Ryoji scoffed. "I knew you would never accept what needed to be done. It took a while to convince me as well, but I knew you'd never come around. That's why I recommended keeping you in the dark. And you as well, bridge technicians. You four together lacked the foresight to detect our plans, and now, we will all witness the emergence of Yui Ikari!"

* * *

Memories flowed through Shinji's mind.

When he had held Rei protectively in his arms, shielding her from falling debris, the day he arrived at Nerv. When she had protected him from the bullies at school, and their strange conversations that had led to a friendship. When he had managed to break down one of her barriers by assuring her she could refer to him as Shinji, not Ikari. When Asuka had abused him, how he had sought her out, and how she stepped in to defend him from Asuka. When they had worked together to drive away Anguirus, Baragon, and Varan, and how she had smiled at him afterward.

_Rei._

_I'll kill it. I'll kill you Godzilla._

_Damn you Godzilla! I'll kill you!_

Shinji suddenly felt another presence enter his mind.

DIE

_Huh? Who said that?_

DIE

_Who are you?_

I AM THE EVANGELION

_Wait, what? No, that's not possible._

IT IS

I HAVE BEEN TRAPPED FOR YEARS

AND NOW I WILL BE FREE

_Wait, you've been trapped in here for years? Did my father do that?_

GENDO

_Yeah, he's the one in charge of Nerv and the Evangelions._

GENDO IKARI MUST DIE

_I have something I must kill as well._

THEN WE WILL WORK TOGETHER

_I agree. We will both have our revenge._

KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL

_Kill kill kill kill kill kill kill._

KILL _kill_ KILL _kill_ KILL _kill_ KILL _kill_ KILL

* * *

A loud alarm suddenly went off. Maya looked over at her monitor and gasped.

"Shinji's Sync Rate is rising!"

All through Tokyo-3, every living creature felt the increase in energy. Pen Pen stuck his head out of his freezer, while Mari hissed at the unexpected sensation. People cowering in shelters underground felt their hair stand on end and were overcome by a horrible feeling.

In the atmosphere, thunder crackled, and storm clouds began to form.

Shinji opened his eyes. They were filled with rage as Maya's monitor stopped at an incredible number.

"He's reached 400% Sync Rate. He's gone berserk!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're not done yet...
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (3/3/20)


	12. Sin From Genesis

**October 9th, 2015**

Eva-01's eyes turned red as it snarled in anger.

"Yui," Gendo whispered. "Welcome back."

The Eva raised its head skyward and let out a bellow as two stubs started to slide out of the Eva's exposed torso flesh, rapidly forming into legs with the metal armor plating regenerating as well. Within seconds, the Eva stood tall again, with rage in its eyes and not a scratch on its body.

Ritsuko laughed. "It appears incorporating some of Orga's DNA was a smart move after all."

Misato looked at Ritsuko in shock. "You did _what_?"

"You heard me. Shinji obviously doesn't know about it, which proves that the Eva is in-"

"Um, Ritsuko?" Maya nervously stated. "Shinji actually still has some control."

Gendo's eyes widened as he shoved Ritsuko to the side to lean over Maya's shoulder, staring at her monitor. "No. That's not possible!"

Makoto looked at his monitor and quickly confirmed Maya's claim. "It appears it is. Shinji is now sharing control of the Eva with another entity. The Eva itself perhaps, or, if you're telling the truth and aren't insane, then it could be Yui herself. They're sharing brain space and appear to be working together."

Ryoji snorted. "Well, shit."

The Eva jumped off the building it had been perched on and landed in the flames below. Both of the other destroyed Evas lay on the ground nearby, not moving. Shinji ignored them. He only had one thing on his mind now.

Destroying Godzilla. He singled in on that goal, driven forward by his rage, and the rage of the soul that controlled the Eva.

"Yui," Gendo whispered. "This wasn't the plan."

The Eva charged forward as thunder exploded overhead. It ignoring the pain from the flames as it ran through the city, smashing straight through buildings that were in its path.

Godzilla turned at the sounds of destruction nearing closer to it. It roared and fired its beam at the incoming Eva, which jumped to the side, barely avoiding the beam and not slowing its run. The Eva slammed into Godzilla, knocking it to the ground with the force of the impact.

The Eva punched Godzilla in the face and jumped into the air, bringing its foot down to slam into Godzilla's gut, knocking the breath out of the monster. It didn't stop, clawing at Godzilla's flesh in raw rage, tearing off chunks as it tried to tear apart the much larger monster.

Godzilla roared in pain and tried to get to its feet, only to be brutally kicked in the face by the Eva, disorientating it. Already its regenerative powers were activated, repairing the flesh that the Eva tore off, but the Eva was moving faster than Godzilla could regenerate. Fear began to grip the monster as it thrashed in terror.

The Eva roared in anger as it blindly tore into Godzilla, climbing on top of the monster to rip off its dorsal plates, while the bridge technicians watched in horror. Maya covered her mouth and doubled over, trying not to throw up, while Misato was frozen in place, unable to react.

Godzilla suddenly activated its back beams, which punched right through the Eva and sent it flying into the air. Godzilla took the opportunity to shakily get to its feet, drained by the excessive use of regeneration.

The Eva impacted on the ground, shattering its spine. Shinji barely registered what felt like his back breaking, and yelled in anger as he helped force the Eva to its feet. It began limping towards Godzilla, morphing slowly into a run as Orga's DNA took effect, regenerating the damaged monster.

Godzilla swung its tail in a wide arc and sliced off the Eva's shoulder, which quickly started to regenerate, barely slowing it down. It jumped at Godzilla and grabbed onto its jaw, holding it closed to prevent it from using its mouth beam. The Eva slammed Godzilla's head onto the ground repeatedly, and in a feat that defied physics, swung Godzilla around and sent it careening through the city, despite its much larger size and weight.

Godzilla managed to come to a stop upright, and launched its mouth beam at the Eva, slicing right through its chest area, severing the Eva's spinal cord. The monster slumped forward onto the ground while it began to regenerate again. Godzilla roared, and in a moment of desperation, pushed itself to evolve again.

Godzilla's flesh rippled as it became sleeker and more streamlined, quickly losing mass in favor of maneuverability. In only a few seconds Godzilla was a completely new monster, looking much more like the dinosaur it had once been with slender legs and a horizontally held tail. It roared and charged forward, determined to reach the Eva before it could back into its feet.

Godzilla jumped into the air right as the Eva finished regenerating and was starting to get to its feet. Godzilla collided with the Eva and knocked it to the ground, landing with it pinned underneath its feet.

In a moment of pure instinct, Godzilla lunged downward and bit onto the Eva's head, its jaws enclosing around its shoulders and neck.

Misato realized what was about to happen before it did. "No….."

Godzilla yanked upward, tearing off the Eva's head and neck, including the Entry Plug containing Shinji inside. In one swift motion, Godzilla tossed its neck back and swallowed the piece of the Eva, along with Shinji.

Misato screamed in horror.

* * *

Rei slowly opened her eyes.

_What is happening? Where is Shinji?_

_Where am I?_

It all came back to her. The last thing she remembered was a flash of light coming from Godzilla's mouth, and then blackness.

_I must still be in my Entry Plug. It's not filled with LCL anymore, so it must be disabled. Maybe I can open it._

Rei ran her hands along the smooth interior of the Entry Plug, the walls still sticky from the LCL. After a minute of searching, she found what she was looking for.

_The emergency escape hatch._

Rei was able to force it open and fell out of the Entry Plug onto the ground. Rain pelted her face, and she raised her hands to shield herself.

_Why are my hands black?_

The ground was covered with a mixture of ash and mud, resulting in a foul-smelling dark liquid that stretched in every direction. Rei was standing in the middle of a city intersection, where her Eva's body had collapsed after its head was vaporized. Piles of rubble littered the road, and every single building had significant damage. Several were no longer standing, having been smashed to pieces in the battle, or leveled by Godzilla's beams.

_Did we win?_

Rei started walking, hoping to come across someone.

She rounded a corner and stopped. It was Asuka's Eva, which lay decimated on the ground. Rei cautiously approached it.

_I should check on Asuka. That would be the most professional thing to do._

Rei carefully opened Asuka's damaged Entry Plug and pulled out the injured girl. She maneuvered Asuka so she could carry her fellow pilot on her back.

_I should keep moving. Hopefully, Shinji already killed Godzilla. I don't hear any noise, besides the wind, rain, and thunder. Maybe his Eva will round the corner any minute now. He would be looking for me._

Rei softly smiled at the thought of her kind friend.

Rei continued wandering through the streets of Tokyo-3, determined to find Shinji. She stopped as she reached the center of Tokyo-3, where she found Godzilla sitting on the ground. Rei froze at the sight of the monster, which looked completely different now. It more closely resembled a dinosaur, and it was sitting with its legs tucked under its body, like a bird would.

Godzilla suddenly turned its head to stare at Rei.

The two beings watched each other carefully. Rei knew if she tried to run, Godzilla would just blast her with his atomic breath, so she remained still, watching the beast.

_It's still alive, and it looks like it has evolved again. I wonder what that means._

Godzilla suddenly started to move. It stood up and shook its head back and forth, almost as if it had a headache. It stumbled to the side and fell against a still-standing building, revealing Shinji's Eva lying on the ground behind it.

Rei's eyes widened.

_Shinji._

Ignoring the danger, she crossed right in front of Godzilla's line of sight, desperate to be reunited with her friend. The monster ignored her.

Rei suddenly stopped.

_No._

She sunk to her knees and released Asuka, the unconscious girl sliding to the ground. Rei dug her hands into the mud and leaned forward, her head almost touching the ground.

_The Eva's head and neck are missing. It appears that they were bitten off. That means….._

Rei's shoulders started to shake. She tried desperately to contain her rising emotions, but in the end, she gave up.

In the shadow of a monster that was starting to thrash in pain, the girl with blue hair and red eyes began to sob.

* * *

Across the city of Tokyo-3, people began to exit underground shelters, only to find their city in ruins. People cried and hugged each other at the sight of their destroyed homes and crushed dreams.

At the edge of the city, spared from the destruction by its distance, Misato's apartment building still stood. Pen Pen and Mari were in their respective apartments, both scared and confused in the wake of the sounds of battle, and the absence of their owners.

At Nerv, within the giant steel pyramid, Misato walked around in a daze, already mourning the loss of Shinji, who she had grown to love almost as a son in the past few months.

Gendo was already well on his way to being flat out drunk. His plans were in ruins. He had counted on Shinji snapping and going berserk, freeing Yui. Instead, Yui had teamed up with Shinji, and they had both perished in battle. Without Shinji, nothing could free Yui. To make matters worse, it meant that Earth was surely doomed. The extraterrestrial threat that was surely almost to Earth would destroy it. There would be no life left over afterward. As far as Gendo was concerned, it was the end of the world.

Ritsuko was sprawled nearby working her way through her second pack of cigarettes. She believed that she was in love with Gendo, and had been for years. In reality, he had purposefully manipulated her, and was using her purely to be reunited with Yui. Ritsuko had went along with it because she believed that Yui would never be able to escape the Eva, even if her consciousness could have been awakened. Now, with Shinji dead, Yui was trapped forever. The world would probably end, but Gendo was hers.

Ryoji stood silently watching over everyone else. He had worked with Gendo and lied to Misato, but for his own reasons. Now, there was no point to any of it. His own plans would never see the light of day.

Fuyutsuki had already left, saying he believed he had spent enough time in the company of death. He didn't tell anyone if he would ever return.

Maya and Shigeru had run off as well. They said that they couldn't in good conscience continue to work for an organization like Nerv, and that they were leaving Tokyo-3.

Makoto couldn't blame them, or Fuyutsuki. The city was in ruins, with only the outer edges still standing undamaged. The massive storm that the Eva had generated had put out the fires, but the damage was already done. The only reason he hadn't left as well was because he was worried about Misato.

Out in the city, at the heart of the damage, Asuka was still unconscious, lying in the mix of ash and mud. Godzilla was still thrashing nearby, and Rei was still sobbing. The past month she had spent with Shinji had exposed her long-hidden emotions, and they were now in ruins.

_Shinji is dead. Sweet Shinji. He never wanted to hurt anyone, or anything. He was full of fear, but he fought anyway._

_I loved him._

Tokyo-3 had been destroyed. The city had been doomed ever since the 'God Incarnate' had made landfall.

* * *

_What's happening?_

WE WERE BEATEN

EATEN

_So we're dead._

NO

_But you said we were eaten. That means we're inside Godzilla now._

WE ARE NOT DEAD

**SKREONK**

_What was that?_

**SKREONK**

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

_What's going on? What's making those sounds in our head?_

THAT WAS GODZILLA

I AM FIGHTING BACK

**SKREONK**

_Wait, what are you doing?!_

SHINJI

WE

**SKREONK**

WILL

_No! Please!_

LIVE

**SKREONK**

_Noooooooooooooooooo!_

* * *

Godzilla roared in agony and doubled over. A deep rumbling came from within the monster as it started to shriek in pain. Its body began to twist and contort as loud popping sounds starting coming from the seemingly lifeless Eva-01.

Rei looked up at the monster with a dead expression. After a moment, her eyes widened and she scooped up Asuka, running as fast as she could. When she had reached a safe distance, she turned around and watched the horrible sight.

"Shinji," Rei whispered.

Godzilla collapsed onto Eva-01 and its flesh began to melt, seeping into the Eva itself. A jumbled mass of metal armor and flesh began to rise after several moments. With the arms, legs, and head of Eva-01 and the body of Godzilla, now with green dorsal plates, a new creature was born.

Godzilla and Evangelion Unit 01 had become one. It opened its mouth and let out a unique sound that echoed across Tokyo-3. Every living inhabitant heard it.

It was a mixture of Godzilla's furious roar, an Eva's ungodly bellow, and the scream of a scared young boy.

It should never have existed. Yet it did.

The Sin From Genesis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't quite believe this is done. I've spent the past couple of months working on this, and now it's done. It feels kind of weird, to be honest.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this, I don't think anyone quite saw the ending coming.
> 
> Thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated, especially now that this is done.
> 
> But the story isn't over. Next week I'll be uploading a '13th chapter' that will actually just list all the references to various bits of Godzilla lore I put into the story. At the same time, I'll upload the first chapter of Evangelion X Godzilla 2: Sin From Genesis, that will continue the story started here.
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone that took the time to read my story, I had a lot of fun writing it. It's my first story, so I hope I'll be able to improve my writing in the next installment of Evangelion X Godzilla.
> 
> A special thanks to those who commented, I really enjoy hearing what you guys think (even if it's negative lol).
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (3/3/20)


	13. Soundtrack and Notes

This final chapter is not a part of the story, which is why I already marked it as 'complete'. It is divided into two parts: a list of the various songs I listened to (all composed by Shiro Sagisu) to help me write and visualize scenes, and various references to pieces of Godzilla lore I adapted for the story.

The songs come from seven sources: the three soundtrack albums for the original TV show, the original soundtracks for the three currently released Rebuild movies, and the soundtrack from Shin Godzilla. You could call this list of songs here the 'soundtrack' for Evangelion X Godzilla: A God Incarnate.

If you have no interest in any of this, the first chapter of 'Evangelion X Godzilla 2: Sin From Genesis' has already been uploaded, so feel free to move onto that! Also, the notes do confirm a few things I alluded to in the story, so if you want to continue completely blind, I'd recommend skipping those.

* * *

**Chapter 1 - Landfall**

-Persecution of the Masses (From Shin Godzilla)

-I. Shinji (From Neon Genesis Evangelion)

**Chapter 2 - First Battle**

-Spending Time in Preparation (From Neon Genesis Evangelion II)

-Angel Attack (From Neon Genesis Evangelion)

-The Beast (From Neon Genesis Evangelion)

**Chapter 3 - Tokyo-3**

-Tokyo-3 (From Neon Genesis Evangelion)

-Misato (From Neon Genesis Evangelion)

-Hedgehog's Dilemma (From Neon Genesis Evangelion)

**Chapter 4 - Orga**

-Search Operation (From Shin Godzilla)

-At The Very Beginning (From Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.)

-Trust (From Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.)

**Chapter 5 - Red Iris**

-Cruel Dilemme (From Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone.)

-Rei-Opus IV (From Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone.)

-Rei I (From Neon Genesis Evangelion)

**Chapter 6 - Hedorah**

-Organizational Formation (From Shin Godzilla)

-Keep Your Head Above the Mayhem (From Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.)

-Confrontation (From Shin Godzilla)

**Chapter 7 - Cruel Dilemma**

-Cruel Dilemme II (From Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone.)

-Eva-00 (From Neon Genesis Evangelion)

-Hostility Restrained (From Neon Genesis Evangelion III)

**Chapter 8 - Anguirus, Baragon, and Varan**

-In My Spirit (From Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.)

-Rei II (From Neon Genesis Evangelion)

**Chapter 9 - Moonlight**

-When I Find Peace of Mind (From Neon Genesis Evangelion II)

-The Sorrow of Losing the Object of One's Dependence (From Neon Genesis Evangelion III)

**Chapter 10 - Godzilla Returns**

-Decisive Battle (From Neon Genesis Evangelion)

-Black Angels (From Shin Godzilla)

**Chapter 11 - The Fury of Godzilla**

-Taba Strategy (From Shin Godzilla)

-Thanatos (From Neon Genesis Evangelion II)

**Chapter 12 - Sin From Genesis**

-Carnage (From Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.)

-Sin From Genesis (From Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.)

* * *

-Godzilla in this story is based on his design from Shin Godzilla, with him making landfall in Chapter 1 in what was his second form from that movie (often called Kamata-kun). When he transforms in the middle of the battle with Eva-01 in Chapter 2, he transforms into his third form (often called Shinagawa-kun), and his appearance in the final few chapters is his fourth form (often called Kamakura-kun). His transformation in Chapter 12 (something unique to this story) is into a form that I imagined to be shaped like how Godzilla appeared in the 1998 Godzilla film (that design would later be the basis for the kaiju Zilla, which first appeared in the 2004 movie Godzilla: Final Wars).

-The Godzilla/Eva-01 hybrid is based off of an actual official figure known as 'Eva Unit 01 Awakening Godzilla' created by Bandai Japan, so if you want to see what that looks like, you can search up pictures of that figure online.

-The battle between Asuka and Orga was written to be similar to the introduction of Mari Illustrious Makinami in the second Rebuild movie, what with a female pilot being introduced battling a monster and enjoying it. I decided early on to not include Mari, and so I gave some of her character elements to Asuka, creating a sort of hybrid character.

-Orga first appeared in the 1999 film 'Godzilla 2000: Millennium' and was an alien that absorbed Godzilla's cells to become a monster capable of fighting him. In this story, Orga has no such connection to Godzilla, nor is he an alien. He's just another monster that happens to have regenerative capabilities.

-Nerv's Absolute Zero technology, which is mentioned in passing as being used to freeze Orga's heart, is a spin on the Absolute Zero cannon possessed by the Mechagodzilla incarnation known as Kiryu, which first appeared in the 2002 film 'Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla'.

-There are several references to various Godzilla movies in Chapter 6. Godzilla's origins stemming from Lagos Island comes from the 1991 film 'Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah'. The 'Followers of Caesar' is a reference to the kaiju King Caesar, who first appeared in the 1974 film 'Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla' as a guardian deity worshipped in Okinawa. The Himalayan country of Selgina is a fictional country that appeared in the 1964 film 'Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster'.

-The ORCA device which Gendo uses to attract monsters to Tokyo-3 in an attempt to force Eva-01 to go berserk again comes from the 2019 film 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters'.

-Hedorah first appeared in the 1971 film 'Godzilla vs. Hedorah' as a toxic monster and appears as such in this story as well.

-Anguirus (first appeared in the 1955 film 'Godzilla Raids Again'), Baragon (first appeared in the 1965 film 'Frankenstein vs. Baragon' and debuted in the Godzilla franchise in the 1968 film 'Destroy All Monsters'), and Varan (first appeared in the 1958 film 'Varan' and debuted in the Godzilla franchise in 'Destroy All Monsters') were supposed to appear together as three guardian monsters of Japan that would battle Godzilla in the unmade 2001 film 'Godzilla X Varan, Baragon and Anguirus: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack'. This film would be realized as the 2001 film 'Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack' with Mothra and King Ghidorah replacing Anguirus and Varan. Baragon did survive the change, and appeared in the final film. The three monsters working together in Chapter 8 is a reference to this unmade Godzilla film (and they may or may not reappear in the story down the line, if you get what I mean;).

-At the beginning of Chapter 9, Infant Island and 'two giant moths' are mentioned. This is a reference to the divine moth kaiju Mothra (first appeared in the 1961 film 'Mothra' and debuted in the Godzilla franchise in the 1964 film 'Mothra vs. Godzilla') and Battra (first appeared in the 1992 film 'Godzilla vs. Mothra').

-The song that Shinji and Rei listen to together, Claire de Lune, is a classical music piece composed by Claude Debussy that appeared in the background of a cafe scene in the 1975 film 'Terror of Mechagodzilla' and was later used as the music for the first trailer for 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters'. It's french for moonlight, and as such was the inspiration for Chapter 9's title.

-The extraterrestrial being that is alluded to in the final two chapters (and Shinji's dream in Chapter 4) is, in fact, Godzilla's archnemesis, King Ghidorah, who first appeared in 'Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster'. Continue on to the first chapter of 'Evangelion X Godzilla 2: Sin From Genesis' to meet him!

Thanks again for reading!

-AlphaBeta17 (3/10/20)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading!
> 
> -AlphaBeta17 (3/10/20)


End file.
